Getting your player ready...
The first thing John and Tish Shields noticed when they started searching the north metro area for a low-maintenance patio ranch, is how few of them there are out there.
Now they’ve landed one – a big single-family ranch with finished basement space in Latitude at Vista Ridge, the master-planned community wrapping Colorado National Golf Club off Highway 7 in Erie. The home, now starting construction, won’t be finished until spring; but although the couple wrote a contract on the new place before putting their old house in Fort Collins on the market, the old one disappeared overnight. “We put it up for sale Friday, had two offers Saturday, and two more Sunday,” recalls Tish Shields. They did everything right – but the Shields will still end up making what Latitude’s sales team calls a “double move,” out of the old place and into temporary quarters, and then once again after the new one is done. Meanwhile, the Shields are among the lucky ones: They have family in both Broomfield and Fort Collins, and will split the intervening months living between the two. Of all ranch buyers Latitude has contracted with this year, around 80 percent of them are making double-moves, often to nearby apartments. (Latitude partners with six north area apartments to help arrange those, if necessary). Latitude’s builder Ward Ritter of Chartered Homes says people wanting into the patio ranch lifestyle – with its advantages of low maintenance and ‘lock-n-leave’ for vacations – have nothing to gain by waiting until tomorrow, hoping the dynamic will change. “There just isn’t a lot of room for builders to increase capacity,” he said, citing labor shortages and scarce lot availability as two reasons why. “People feel a lot more urgency now,” added Kimberly Karsell, working with the Shields on final selections for their home. Buyers, she says, find out quickly from their Realtors about the lack of inventory, as well as the rapid speed at which older houses will sell.That was exactly the experience of the Shields, who narrowed the search to three communities before picking Latitude. “It’s a great value for new construction,” John Shields said, showing his foundation underway, and then moving on to a pocket park that overlooks the golf course and views of the Indian Peaks. In addition to the lock-n-leave lifestyle (“We’re major travelers,” said Tish Shields) they’ll get the Vista Ridge’s two community pool and tennis areas, and trails that reach a half-mile to the golf clubhouse, with a grille, bar, and other attractions. Those, along with front yard landscape, and snow removal, are all wrapped into a single HOA fee that’s currently $128 per month. Latitude does have ways to avoid the double-move, but for only two buyers: One is a spec-home ‘St. Andrews’ ranch ready for move-in on a site backing to open space, at $418,000. It’s just over 2,900 square feet finished, including dining/great room area overlooking the trail; a very private master; finished basement space and 3-car garage. There’s a second home set for November delivery, and another 22 sites for homes priced from $279,000; including four sites on the golf course. There’s no age requirement at Latitude. To reach from Denver, take I-25 north from 120th seven miles, just past E470, to Highway 7; then head west two miles to Vista Ridge’s entry at Mountain View. Or from Boulder, take Baseline east 13 miles. WHERE: Latitude at Vista Ridge, 3 ranches on view; low-maintenance plans by Chartered Homes, golf & amenities; lock-n-leave lifestyle; no age restriction; 3-car garage option, finished basement standard, four remaining sites on golf course. 1963 Fairway Pointe Drive, Erie; Hwy 7 at Mountain View Blvd (Vista Ridge entry nearest I-25). Take I-25 north one exit past E470 to Hwy 7, west 2 mi. to Mountain View; or from Boulder take Baseline east to Mountain View
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