Wife is getting pretty excited about the affordability of longmont. We're new to Colorado, so not real familiar with the different areas. The one thing that worries me is the market seems really saturated with homes there. Any areas to stay away from? How is the commute to Boulder and RMNP? I work right off 25 in Thornton and my wife is right off 25 in downtown Denver. We both only work 3 days a week. I'm assuming her commute will be about an hour?

Thanks
Nick

Hey Nick,

If you need a realtor give Cory Dudley a shout. Old Town Realty. He knows the area better than most.

oldtownrealestateco.com/

Prod.

nick, given your work locations, i would maybe look at the louisville/lafeyette sort of area. it would save your work commutes quite a bit, set you up better for climbing at eldo after work in the summer, and are both fairly nice areas.

for your wife, she could easily jump on the BX or HX buses to get downtown which would not only save her sanity, but would save on parking costs (significant if you work downtown).

good luck in your home hunt.

I have a friend who lived in central Longmont and commuted to Denver, mostly by bus, for years. Still, if it were me, and I wanted a SFH and couldn't afford central Boulder, I'd consider Gunbarrel or Louisville before Longmont. (My preference was actually a condo in Boulder.)

Longtucky? Drink yer beer out of red Solo cups much?

Longmont proper is becoming a busy place. If you are working in Thornton you'd want to look on the east side (even as far as Firestone). If you can live in Weld County your life will be better (Boulder county is more expensive, and restrictive).

Driving to RMNP from Longmont is closer than from Boulder - Thornton's closer too (and less traffic).

We live in Weld, and are surrounded by ag fields. . . possibly the best view of the Front Range in the whole of the FR. Love it out here: lots of room to breath and relax, less people, less lights and less noise.
We're about 7 minutes west of I25, and I can be in
Westminster/Thornton in 20 min., Denver ~40, Boulder in 25, Lyons in 20, Loveland in 20, and Ft Collins in ~40.

Drive thru Longmont and don't consider homes in the areas that aren't comfortable for you. Also, call the police station and ask them for crime stats in areas of town, etc.

Homes and land are cheaper out here, and we just got ourselves a spankin' new WalMart east of town! Yeehaw!

Broomfield/Broomfield County may be an even better choice for you two: lower prices, closer to work, etc.

You can't land in Bongmont after coming here all the way from Chicago.

As you are looking at homes, you might want to consider appreciation rates in addition to "affordability". My home in Boulder is worth 1.5x what I paid for it ~10 yrs ago, while many friends' homes in the shitburbs are worth less than they paid over roughly the same period - and they paid about the same, just a little newer and a little bigger, but not by much.

Foco or loveland are pretty sweet. 30-40 mins to rmnp.

Also remember that, in 5 years, we will be wistfully remembering the days when gas was only $4/gallon. Fuel prices are only going up, and this is a significant thing to think about when buying a house. Moving to a somewhat exurb location, where you are driving long distances to work, may quickly prove to be false economy, once you find yourself spending $20/day on gas to commute in a few years.

Longmont is a good place to live. Good commute times to Boulder and you're in RMNP faster than you'd expect. Some people gripe about gangs and rednecks, but a lot of people gripe about anything that isn't white suburbia. There aren't many, but stay away from the obviously rough areas and you're fine. Definitely ask Longmont PD if you want the specifics. They are very helpful.

Longmont has its nicer areas these days but you will want to look literally anywhere and everywhere else first. I grew up here with numerous friends who lived and still live in Longmont, and I try to avoid the place as much as possible. Broomfield, Westminster, Arvada and Golden have some comparably priced houses, any one of those will be significantly better to live in than Wrongmont.

This may be harsh and not apply too much now, but there is a long standing joke on the front range: "What's the difference between gonorrhea and a house in Longmont? You can get rid of a gonorrhea!"

Nick, the really question is "Where do you want to live?" 4- 8 days off, depending on your schedule is a lot of time, some of which will be spent hanging out where you live.

When my wife and I decided to upsize from condo to house, we thought the L-towns were our best option. Our friend/realtor, asked us where we preferred to live. When we replied Boulder, he said then we'll make it work. We did and on the income of a teacher and a student/produce man.


I love being able to bike to Chautauqua, Flagstaff, Sanitas, BoCan, and even Eldo for bouldering, hiking, or easy solos. I love being able to run most errands on bike as well.

Nick - what are your plans for generating progeny? If that's affirmative, then you need to evaluate the best place to raise them in terms of schools and overall environment. Not that you can't move again, but something to consider.

I have friends that live in longmont so I'm up there now and then. Personally I would live in Boulder if I could swing it but Westminster has been a great "cheap" option for us. My wife would rather live in Golden or Evergreen if we were willing to spend more on a house.

Hi Nick,

I work full time as a real estate agent in Denver. Let me know if I can be helpful in any way.

Cheers,

David
www.milehighpropertyguy.com
Keller Williams Realty Downtown
720-440-2340 Direct
303-539-5700 Office

The whole reason we were looking in Longmont is it's so affordable. We're looking for a 4 bed 2+ bath with a garage, in Boulder that's going to cost at least 400k, in longmont we're finding them sub 250 which is more our price range. I'll have to look into broomfield county more.

Nick, just be sure you want to live where you're looking. Years ago we bought a condo in central Boulder because we realized we didn't want to buy something that we wouldn't have rented. I think that's a good test.

nick, like most folks have said.....think about where you really want to live. You will be making a BIG commitment ....finiacially and mentally . Real estate is best approached as along term commitment. You will spend lots of time at your home as wellas MONEY.If you and your wife decide to have kids they will go to school there. It's location,location,location......and the local school systems that drive property values as well as the ability to sell your house if you decide that the area is not working out.. I hear it is kinda hard to sell certain homes in Bongmnt. I live right in ELDO proper and can go climbing ,hiking,mountain biking at a moments notice,I do not live in a huge house but the trade off is well worth it. If I did not live in ELDO it would either be Boulder or Yosemite or Baraboo. Peace and fuknes Steve s.

I have lived in Eldo, in Louisville, in Broomfield, and now in Longmont/Weld. I've owned a home in Broomfield (and Longmont).
Most on this site would likely choose to live in Boulder, Eldo, Louisville, etc. I moved away from that area intentionally.

We love "country" living in Weld. 5 minutes walk (from home) and I'm all alone along the St. Vrain River - heck, 10 seconds I'm out the back viewing Pikes Peak south to Arthur's Rock (FTC) north with a few miles of open fields to walk the dog to the lake.

If lots of people and rubbing elbows is your preference, then the outskirts of Longmont isn't for you.
Longmont itself is an OK town, with much lower crime than big areas like Boulder, et al, and it has some exceptional schools for the kids. However, I'd guess the nightlife is pretty small-town in feel, and there aren't any REI's or Neptune's or climbing gyms (I don't think?); and the closest climbig area is 15-20 min west in the SSV, where again, you'll likely find yourslef alone.

For you and your wife's working locations, I would still look into Broomfield area (outskirts), or maybe NW Arvada areas if you want to stay closer to the hills and lower in the bills.

Putting a recommendation in for agent Chris George (cgpremier.com/home/?ID=19829). He went above and beyond for me researching options when I had questions about what to do with my lot in Lyons. Additionally, he's active in the climbing community (on the Action Committee for Eldo board of directors).

Sounds like you were looking in East Longmont, about the only area in Longmont you'll find 4 BR homes for 250k. Have fun with that, you might as well moved to Huston if getting your own slice of yuppie suburban hell is what you really wanted all along. As others have added, suggest you sit tight in your rental awhile longer until you get the area and how you fit into it figured out a bit more. The market isn't going anywhere fast like it was 2002 all over again, time is on your side. Enjoy the summer. The kind of home you are seeking in Longmont sounds like a really costly wrong turn to me. A good agent may help, talking to lots of people helps more.

Definitely have a look at Arvada or even unincorporated Golden (North of Golden east of Hwy 93). There are some great houses in those areas that are probably in your price range, with mature landscaping, and generally good highway access for commuting as well as access to the mountains. If you are willing to buy a house that might require a bit of love, you could probably make out pretty well. Good luck!

Erika- definitely looking in that NW area of Golden.

JLP- 119 and pike is where I was talking about. Louisville is awesome but they have a pit bull ban so it isn't an option. The west side of lafayette seems like it's pretty good but some areas to the east are pretty run down. I'll have to check it out more, thanks for the list. Why don't you like Broomfield?

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.