Getting your player ready...
So, are you looking for a new lifestyle where everybody living around you remembers Gilligan’s Island and the Apollo moon landings? Or are you just after a low-maintenance ranch or townhome, but would be fine having a younger family next door? Older buyers are all over the map on that question, according to builders showing model homes during this final weekend of the Best of 50+ Housing Tour.
“Buyers here want the no-maintenance lifestyle, but they’re not ready to give up on having some kids around,” says Don Rhine with Century Communities, who’ll show you a new 2,840-square-foot ranch model at Country Club Highlands, west of I-25 on 120th at Zuni, that will have all landscape maintenance taken care of, but that’s also attracting some younger buyers. The neighborhood, with no age qualification, still has an enclave feel: nice pool and clubhouse, wrapped in a privacy wall but with no locked gate. It also, Rhine notes, is with within a short walk of some attractions older buyers will like: Baker Street Pub, a sushi place, a fitness studio and Westminster’s vast bike trail system. “We have a lot of buyers moving here to be close to their grandchildren; and they love the walkability and low maintenance,” says Heather Barben, who along with Dede Jeffery will show you Parkwood Homes’ models at Stapleton – no age qualification, but attracting some baby-boom generation buyers along with younger families that are Stapleton’s core market. Parkwood’s Logan Wilcox, second generation of the family-owned builder, says that several years ago Parkwood began incorporating ‘universal design’ into its architecture – better adaptability for when owners move up in age. Parkwood has no ranch now, but will have a main-floor master among some townhomes arriving next year; and is willing to let people customize – something buyers who were around when homebuilders drove pickup trucks appreciate. “These buyers can have two very different views of what’s the best lifestyle,” says Carrie Kayl at Lennar Homes – a builder with two very different offerings on the tour: age-qualified Heritage Todd Creek in Thornton, with lots of club activities and options for full maintenance; and Rocking Horse, a neighborhood close to Eagle Bend Golf Club near 470 at Gartrell, where Lennar gets older buyers who like a ranch lifestyle, but who don’t prefer an ‘entry-age’ community. Even 55-and-older communities allow in a percentage of residents as young as 48, if they have no kids at home. You can see that at Heritage, Anthem Ranch, Fairway Villas and Verona, but you’ll also see enclaves with a similar ambience and no age restriction. “It’s more than product, more than a house,” says Ron Hickman of Kemmons Wilson, building two enclaves that aren’t age restricted but that offer single-level low-maintenance, one in Longmont, one at Great Plains Park in Aurora. “People value it once they’ve experienced it,” he adds. “After they move in, we often hear ‘I wish I had done this sooner.'” This final weekend you’ll also find ways of financing a 50-plus move; including new FHA-backed Home Equity Conversion Mortgages for Purchase (HECM) from Security 1 Lending that let a 62-year-old buy a new home without a monthly payment (Larry Armstrong has seminars Dec. 12 and early next month (303-875-7808); and FHA and jumbo loans from W.J. Bradley. See the map to plan a tour or visit Bestof50PlusTour.com. WHERE: The Best of 50+ Housing Tour, final weekend, tour of 18 locations offering ranches, townhomes & condos designed for a 50-and-over lifestyle; sponsored by 50+ Housing Council of the Home Builders Association of Metro Denver, W.J. Bradley & Security 1 Lending. Locations all over Denver-Boulder-Loveland area (see map and listings in sidebar) PRICE: From $150s to $700s
