Buying a house in longmont?

Nick- consider looking around Old Town Arvada, generally using I-70 and Wadsworth as the SE corner of the target quadrant. Mature area (big trees), but the main thing is that if you can get a steal (say under $190K), you can arrange a construction loan to fill in your budget and make the house uniquely yours, plus have some built-in equity.

CJC wrote: not trying to disagree with you but I'd like to know your source for this data just from being around the area for awhile it seems like Longmont has its fair share of crime

Longmont is where the Colorado branch of the Mexican Cartel is based, it's no secret it's the sketchiest part of the state other than a few sections of Denver.

As much crap as Longmont gets, it's not a bad place to live at all. Just depends on where you get a place...

For your commutes, I would highly suggest getting closer like Louisville or Lafayette. In terms of quality of life, these places beat out Longmont. In terms of pricing, they will be a good deal more expensive. If I had to commute to Denver, which I will in about a year, I would not live in Longmont. Because I love Boulder, I will live there and bus down because I can get decent quality time while riding.

Don't listen to the person that says Westminster is the new Boulder. There's no comparison in terms of the 'town.' Westminster is sprawl, Boulder is a town. Granted, if you like cul-de-sac communities, go for it. Broomfield, having lived there is more of the same. There's no town, just communities and boring living.

For your commute, perhaps you don't mind that it's a bit farther away. You will be close to the climbing areas, but to me, spending the extra money to live in Boulder is worth every penny. You won't find access to the running trails, easy biking to the flatirons and betasso, and nice walking/biking to downtown bars/fun anywhere else that is even close. I tried to do the live in Broomfield, Erie thing to save on cash, but just ended up moving to where I really wanted to be in Boulder. Shhhh though.. it's a secret.

Rather than give you all the reasons to live somewhere besides Longmont, here's a link to a very cool place to live in Longmont.

prospectnewtown.com/prospec…

and here's a link to an article in today's paper about the scene at Prospect:

dailycamera.com/news/ci_204…

Boulder could only wish to have a neighborhood this cool. We just signed a contract on a house in North Boulder (NoBo). It's a great neighborhood but here's the bad news: 1,000 sf, no garage and we close at $410K. You can buy a lot of house in Longmont for $400K.

We used Timmy O'Neill's gf, Amanda Salzman, as our buyer's agent and I can't say enough great things about her: She works her ass off and it's completely low stress. Here's a link:

walnutrealty.com/boulder_re…

Good luck in your search.

Mal

I agree with you Jeff; it's about priorities. I had an engineer tell me he bought a house in Broonfield because he did the math and it was where he could get the most square feet for his dollars. My husband and I are suburbia-phobic and, starting out in our careers, didn't think twice about going smaller to live in Boulder. It's why we moved to Colorado. My test (repeating myself, I know): don't buy it if you wouldn't rent it.

Malcolm Daly wrote:Rather than give you all the reasons to live somewhere besides Longmont, here's a link to a very cool place to live in Longmont. prospectnewtown.com/prospec… and here's a link to an article in today's paper about the scene at Prospect: dailycamera.com/news/ci_204… Boulder could only wish to have a neighborhood this cool. We just signed a contract on a house in North Boulder (NoBo). It's a great neighborhood but here's the bad news: 1,000 sf, no garage and we close at $410K. You can buy a lot of house in Longmont for $400K. We used Timmy O'Neill's gf, Amanda Salzman, as our buyer's agent and I can't say enough great things about her: She works her ass off and it's completely low stress. Here's a link: walnutrealty.com/boulder_re… Good luck in your search. Mal

I looked at a lot of places in Prospect and it's a cool place for sure. It was actually built by the same people that built a community I lived in and still own a place in Gaithersburg, MD. The problem with Prospect is that it is an island. You're no closer to climbing or great running trails (not paved stuff) than you'd be living in Longmont proper. Don't get me wrong, you could really like the architecture and great restaurants and shops for a reasonable (still pricey though), but it's laughable to say that Boulder wishes it has a community that cool.

JLP wrote: The homes are about same size and age. In fact, many are 1:1 identical in design and lot size. The neighborhoods look the same. Don't look at price, just depreciation. Let's say you are thinking of moving (or possibly just refinancing) in ~5 yrs, as you state, so you get a 5 yr ARM. Ask yourself, what happens when you want to sell - how much are you going to get back? Are you going to be stuck and not able to sell at all? Could you even get a new loan in 5? Make a plan and add up all the numbers and see what it looks like.

It is not that straight forward at all.
Risk is proportional to reward.
Depreciated properties have the most rebound potential.

JLP, do you also look for "high resale value" in a used car? Just means you are paying more...

I buy things on sale.

Longmont, like all other areas on the FR has seen depreciations in real estate investments (from a span of 10yrs). Longmont is growing more than most areas, however.

As far as violent crime, a year back I recall reading a stat:
every 1 murder in Longmont, there are 4 in Boulder; for every 1 rape in Longmont, there are 30 in Boulder.
That's huge.
It does seem "personal and property" crime risks are higher in Longmont than neighboring areas. Hmmm? I wonder if city statiticians or crime reporting is a part of that.

Arvada has some real good crime/"quality of living" stats, and the price of homes is very reasonable.
Check out this site for the basic data/stats on the different towns that you may be interested in.
homeinsight.com/home-value/…

Evan S wrote: Longmont is where the Colorado branch of the Mexican Cartel is based, it's no secret it's the sketchiest part of the state other than a few sections of Denver.

LOL, there's a quality stat!!

EDIT: This must be what you're ref:
DENVER (AP) -- The U.S. Department of Justice says two Mexican cartels are active in five Colorado cities.

A report by the agency's National Drug Intelligence Center says the Juarez and Sinaloa cartels are operating in Denver, Boulder, Colorado Springs, Grand Junction, and Longmont.

the Ascender wrote: LOL, there's a quality stat!! EDIT: This must be what you're ref: DENVER (AP) -- The U.S. Department of Justice says two Mexican cartels are active in five Colorado cities. A report by the agency's National Drug Intelligence Center says the Juarez and Sinaloa cartels are operating in Denver, Boulder, Colorado Springs, Grand Junction, and Longmont.

I base what I said off of growing up in Boulder and hearing things, but I'm not surprised to see an official report. They left out Delta on the western slope though.

I'd like to rise to the defense of Longmont. My 2 cents...

I've worked here for 10 years. Bought a house here 3 years ago and got a great deal, in a great location. There are fewer of those now. You will not get a great deal in Prospect New Town. You will be competing with uptight yuppie whites who want to rub elbows with same. And good luck selling your quirky New Urbanist, overpriced home there for a profit in a few years.

Old Town Longmont is quite a nice neighborhood, centrally located, quiet, and clean with diverse incomes and architectures. That's where I live.

With no traffic it's 40 minutes to downtown Denver, max (More like 35 mins from Prospect). However there is almost always mild traffic on I-25 south into Denver during rush hour morning, and on I-25 north out of Denver during rush hour evening. Also mild traffic going into the city Friday and Sat nights usually but not always. I commuted to grad school at DU a couple days a week for evening classes...easy breezy.

The crime stats indicate that today, Longmont has less crime than Boulder. Do a search of the local papers, and you'll see the stories about crime rate. The city and its downtown are in flux, having moved from being the agricultural hub of Boulder County around the turn of the century (19th to 20th), to being a hollowed-out exurban shell with some gangs and crime, to the current incarnation: A software and data storage hub and bedroom community with a downtown slowly but surely increasing in vibrancy.

Longmont is more racially and socioeconomically diverse than Boulder or Louisville. It's a city in flux, with 1st, 2nd, and 3rd generation immigrant cultures from all over the world (Mexico and Latin America, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and East Asia being the dominant ones). Lots of software folks here. Lots of blue collar folks too.

Everything about the Longmont nightlife sucks. It's nonexistent, so don't bother going out here. If stumbling home from sweet sweet bars with an empty wallet appeals to you, then Boulder would be the appropriate place.

Access to climbing is mixed. You have to drive all the way through Boulder to get to Boulder climbing and and points south, which can suck. But as others have noted, access is easy to good uncrowded climbing in Big Thompson (combat rock), RMNP, Lumpy, SSV Canyon, Carter Lake, Monastery, and Greyrock.

Nick- It comes down to where you and your wife really want to live. If it's a rural area, one of the L-towns, or further east, great you'll find a place no problem. But if you really want to live in Boulder, don't turn your back on it w/o looking.

Start checking coloproperties.com I bet there are at least 6-10 properties that meet your wants/needs available right now.

Buy in the winter if possible and/or look for properties that have "market rot".

Find a good agent and enjoy the hunt.

Good luck!

David

Dig in brother!

Buy something small in Boulder (you know, the place you WANT to live)!
Build equity until you can get the place you want.
Who knows; maybe you'll end up renting out your old place because you'll have your saving back in order by then and can afford to do so.

In the end, make the sacrifices to live where you want to live. It's really not a hard decision or even a painful sacrifice when you keep things in perspective.
Plus, buying a place in Boulder will appreciate more than a place anywhere else.
Think about it!

Awesome replies, I've got to go over a bunch of this stuff with the wife. We aren't too worried about crime, remember we're coming from Chicago... Everything here is awesome lol. I visited last week and there were 38 shootings over the weekend with 28 murders. Even the bad neighborhoods here aren't anywhere close to what we'd consider bad. =)

I am actually closing on a house in Longmont this week. I actually grew up in Lafayette so I can attest to what Longmont USE to be like, it has cleaned up A LOT in the last 5 years or so. I would've never dreamed of living in Longmont but I don't want a craphole in Boulder. I am buying a place that is in the Northwest part of Longmont, I am less then 10 miles from Lyons which is easy for climbing and getting to RMNP. Plus, I can shoot to Boulder in no time at all. I also just recently picked up road biking and I can't wait to start hitting some pavement.

Everything between Boulder and Denver was too burbie for me, it was too claustrophobic, I like the easy access to the moutains. As far as night life goes I can just hop on the bus to Boulder or find a friends couch to crash on in either Boulder or Denver.

Also, I work in Denver, it will take about an hour by bus to get to work but when I lived in Boulder and commuted to Denver sometimes it took more then that just because 36 is a mess when there is accidents or snow.

One last point, interest rates are super low right now and the market it saturated with bankruptcy's, prices are going to start going up and homes in Boulder County will only increase in price, but like anything you will have to do your research and check out the areas first. There are still some skecthy places in Longmont where property values will always be low but that is anywhere.

If you are still serious about Longmont I would suggest the Northwestern part closer to Hover or on the West side of Hover, closer to Hygiene and Boulder, Macintosh lake area is also pretty sweet. Good luck and welcome :)

JLP wrote: Well, looking for good deals is a given in everything. You need to throw out specific examples of "rebound potential", though, in real estate, here on the Front Range. If your game is to flip condos in Boulder for a profit, I totally agree with your sentiments. It's a wild market not recommended for the inexperienced. Single family homes around here, however, especially ones you plan to live in for some time, are a very different game. Throwing a used car analogy into a real estate thread is a joke - but like real estate it really depends on the rate of depreciation, now doesn't it?

Not really. I sent a longer explanation of many things tot he OP, but what I was saying here is that you were over-simplifying.
What I am saying is that a depreciated price/market right now may indicate recovery potential. Buying at a historical low is generally a good idea.
When the stock market crashed down to 8K I was joking around on the threads here and saying "SELL SELL SELL, it's a great time for me to to buy" Bobby D (you may recall this, since I believe you were in on the thread) prodded me and asked me what I planned to do when the market hit 6000... I said buy even more.

You see, the market is now at 13,000. Guess how I made out?!?!?

BTW, (and not unrelated) I do own 4 houses right now. 2 were short sales. This is not something I'm new at. All 4 of them are already worth well more than I paid for them after minimal fix-ups and would easily sell if that is what I wanted to do. But I want more "bounce" out of their prices.

Depreciation in the last few years may indicate something that is undervalued... which is not a bad thing if you are the buyer.

the Ascender wrote: DENVER (AP) -- The U.S. Department of Justice says two Mexican cartels are active in five Colorado cities.

No mention of Vail, which is practically owned by the cartels. I guess once there's enough money and its well-laundered then its all good.

Nick Mardi wrote:Awesome replies, I've got to go over a bunch of this stuff with the wife. We aren't too worried about crime, remember we're coming from Chicago... Everything here is awesome lol. I visited last week and there were 38 shootings over the weekend with 28 murders. Even the bad neighborhoods here aren't anywhere close to what we'd consider bad. =)

"Colorado had 20 murders last year, in all, and that included the people the cops shot. And there's like 5 million people living here. Shit, I'm not scared, because I'm not doing anything that's going to get me whacked... 20 people is probably only a third of the folks who DESERVED it."
-Me, ~15 years ago

Tony B wrote: Not really. I sent a longer explanation of many things tot he OP, but what I was saying here is that you were over-simplifying. What I am saying is that a depreciated price/market right now may indicate recovery potential. Buying at a historical low is generally a good idea. When the stock market crashed down to 8K I was joking around on the threads here and saying "SELL SELL SELL, it's a great time for me to to buy" Bobby D (you may recall this, since I believe you were in on the thread) prodded me and asked me what I planned to do when the market hit 6000... I said buy even more. You see, the market is now at 13,000. Guess how I made out?!?!? BTW, (and not unrelated) I do own 4 houses right now. 2 were short sales. This is not something I'm new at. All 4 of them are already worth well more than I paid for them after minimal fix-ups and would easily sell if that is what I wanted to do. But I want more "bounce" out of their prices. Depreciation in the last few years may indicate something that is undervalued... which is not a bad thing if you are the buyer.

don't forget the 'detroit' factor though. you have to be careful when considering if an area will rebound or not, and over what length of time. i agree that JLP is simplifying things a bit, but probably most likely to make his point more easily understood (instead of trying to apply an angle, or out of ignorance). i pretty much agree with him.

i would be really careful about buying in a lot (or most for that matter) areas. ultimately, the value of something is simply what somebody will pay for it. with the overabundance of suburban sprawl (today's suburbs, tomorrows ghettos), the construction industry desperately trying to jump back into a completely oversupplied market, and the fact that a lot of jobs that pay in the range that can afford these homes being extinct with no hope of coming back, etc, i don't see most areas increasing substantially in value over the foreseeable future.

i guess the big question i have is whether nick plans on living there for 5 or 50 years. if you are going to be in the house until you kick the bucket, then increasing value might not be a big concern (tomorrow's ghetto on the other hand might be a concern...). however, if there is a chance you will move in the next 10 years, i think your probability of getting taken to the woodshed is high. real high.

while the old adage 'location, location, location' is pretty abused, it also has a certain truth to it.

Damn, I had no idea climbers got so damn snooty. Don't some of you live in your cars half the year?