Moving to Colorado Springs

Hey all,

I am calling for a little on ground assistance from fellow TW members. My fiance has accepted a position at St. Francis Medical Center and we will be moving down the first week of July. We are realizing there is some difficulty finding a rental property that will suit our needs; short term rental. I would prefer a house/condo/town home in which the property owners would allow a rental term of around 4 months (at that point I hope to have purchased something). Does anyone have a lead on something that may meet that criteria? Much appreciated, and if a lead works out for us, a case of your favorite beverage is on me.

Thanks,
Jake

 

Welcome to the Colorado trail limo club!!

 

That's in the Springs right? I'm not sure what the rental market is down there, I know you'd be hard pressed to find a short term in Denver though, at least one that you wouldn't get rolled over the coals for.

Welcome to Colorado though!

 

Jake,

My parents just completed a move from out of state to here in the Springs. Rental properties are very hard to come by right now. I'd suggest you find a realtor or other agent to help you find a place. To give you an idea of what it was like for them, it took several attempts before they could find a place. By the time they looked at a place, it had been rented. The only way they found one was to be the first ones to look at it and then have their agent immediately call to and make the deposit, etc.

Welcome to the Springs. My wife used to work for Penrose/Saint Francis and she liked it.

 

Welcome to the Springs. I live about 2 miles north of St. Francis and this part of town is exploding. I'm not sure about the rental market, but in my neighborhood homes sell within 1-2 days of being on the market. There are a TON of apartments being built around me, so I assume the rental market is the same.
If you open up your search radius to farther away (south) you will likely have much better luck finding a place but anything north of Woodmen will be in high demand ($$$).

 

Thank you for your reply. I have been in contact with a realtor since April and have seen how fast properties move in this market; it's incredible. Being we are new to town, I would like to take some time to actually feel out an area without committing to purchase. I am approved up to 400k+, but our search market is in the 260k range, which seems to be the hot and fast moving price range. I have been scouring many sites online and sending requests out, hopefully with some sort of progress this week.

That Briardale area is definitely an area we are looking at, but as you have said, rentals are tough to come be. Especially staying in district 20 as we have a first grader and have heard good things about that district. We may have to settle for an apartment for the time being, with hope that we don't get stuck with a 12 month lease.


Thanks everyone for you insight and advice. Much appreciated.

Jake

 

No matter what you do, it's going to be tough. Apartments that was renting for $700 few years back have doubled in rent price. Houses get 5 bids on first day it hits market. Most sell over asking price.

I bought my house 5 years ago when market was very low at $100k. It just appraised for $196k. It's rediculous. With 3k people moving to metro area a month it's literally worst time to buy or move here.

That being said it's the best City to live in the US for an outdoorsman and offroad enthusiast. You will love it here.

 

That is the feeling I have; it's a pain in that ass to get there and settled, but once established it will be wonderful.

What industry is driving this crazy housing market? Is it relying just on defense companies and the military installations?

 

Really? You don't know? It's legal weed. No joke. That's when it all started.

 

I'm really looking forward to explaining to a six year old what that smell is and why everyone is doing it. To each their own, but I like a sober state of mind and a capable lung capacity.

Crazy to think that weed is driving the Colorado economy...

 

Weed sales outsold alcohol and tobacco combined by almost double if I remember right.

Only negative here is the tons of people and homeless. We have a guy making a killing on homeless shelters. We have more than most places. Other cities literally give there homeless free bus tickets to Colorado springs and they come in bus fulls.

 

Man, I am in the wrong industry. That's unfortunate about the homeless population and hopefully the city realizes there is a problem and does something to curb the influx of people that do not contribute.

I am essentially moving to Springs blind, as I have never had an extended stay. I am quitting my job to allow my fiance to fulfill her desire to living in Colorado and work as an OT. Hopefully she hold up her end of the deal and allows me to get on the bicycle once and a while.

 

We will kidnap you, its all good

 

They finally put up signs banning them from standing on medians that are so small they cause wrecks. Slow work in progress.

 

I would look at furnished rentals, they will do monthly but you will pay for that option regardless here. You could also look at "extended stay" style hotel which would be much less then rental and give you TV and internet included.

 

Hey Jake, where are you guys moving from?

 

Bismarck, North Dakota

 

Welcome to the state, and to the Springs. Moved here a couple years ago with my wife. I can't really offer much help, but I'd be more than happy to get some eyes on something if you need.

I will say, keep an eye out for people that rent out their basements. When we first moved here we rented an 800 sq/ft finished studio style basement of this mansion in an area called Old North End (near downtown). Only paid $750/month including utilities. We were able to sign a 6 month contract with the owner and ended up liking it so much after a couple months we extended it for a full year. We've since bought a house, but it was nice being able to save some money.

 

Well we successfully found housing in D20, however it was not the type we wanted. We found an apartment that will accommodate a 4 month lease.. at $1817 a month . I suppose we have to take what we get at this point.

 

Well at least you got something temporary...it'll give you guys some time to explore the area and see where/if you want to buy. Out of curiosity, how many bedrooms is that place?
When you get into town, feel free to PM me, we can go grab a beer and I can answer some questions for you about the area. I have a great realtor if you need and I follow the real estate quite closely in the D20 area (80919, 80920 and 80924).