Getting your player ready...
At a time of year when people have lots of things to do beside look at houses, builders up and down the Front Range are advising you to do your shopping for an age-50-plus ranch now, rather than waiting until the lights and tinsel are put away. Coming into Christmas, builders actually have some ranch plans you could move into now, rather than ordering one for late next year.
“These homes are absolutely marked down,” says Dwayne Montoya with Oakwood Homes, on the tour at age-55-plus Fairway Villas at Green Valley Ranch, as well as Erie Highlands in Erie (no age restriction, but luring plenty of 50-plus buyers to five ranch plans). Fairway Villas has homes ready now; Erie has one set for January (purchase at either and mention this article and you’ll get $3,000 toward your closing costs, plus a washer-dryer!). “Prices are rising rapidly,” Montoya adds. “At Erie there are price increases every month.” That’s true for other builders, too – including in the luxury range, where this tour is a chance to see a lavishly designed ranch in at Quail Hollow in Applewood, off 32nd at Quail. You’ll tour a new model and see one other home that could be ready for move-in soon, $1.125 million. “In this market, pricing is going to go up; there’s no inventory out there,” says Janelle Sears with Quail Hollow, noting that prices are up $58,000 over nine months ago. Builder William Lyon has already had huge success at Tucker’s Gate at Standley Lake and at Country Manor Estates, in Lakewood west of Sheridan on Jewell. (At each you’ll find a single remaining home left to tour!) You’ll tour some enclaves limited to buyers 55-and-older; but others with no age restriction. “I’ve sold to people that picked us for NOT being age-restricted,” says David Weekley’s Cynthia Pacello, ready to show you Hyland Village in Westminster – ranch and main-floor master plans north of U.S. 36 on Sheridan to W. 96th. Prices start in the high $400s (she has a ranch ready now at $599,000) in a setting that works for buyers who want proximity to their grandkids in Boulder and Broomfield; and like attractions of downtown Denver and Highlands. Light Rail from Union Station, she adds, opens to Westminster in 2016. Heading down the price scale, you’ll find three destinations by Lokal Homes, all with ranches set to deliver now — including Villages at Buffalo Run Golf Course, north of 104th on Chambers in Commerce City, with a Reese ranch, 1,809 square feet with two bedrooms plus study and 3-car garage, just $357,990. You’ll also find one ready at Stonetree, off Smoky Hill Road at Liverpool in Centennial, only $389,990 (yard maintenance is provided!); and at Diamond Head at Plum Creek, Castle Rock. A ranch near-ready there at $549,990 overlooks the golf course and has amazing views, plus 3-car garage and a walk-out basement. “These are thoughtful designs that live well, says Lokal’s Becky Hunt. “The level of finish is really high; people don’t have to come in and spend another $100,000 to get the granite, the site-finished hickory floors and the undermount sinks in the baths.” To find homes, check out the map, or visit Best50PlusHomes.com. Are you age-62-plus? Find out how you could buy your dream home for 50 percent of purchase price, with no mortgage payment. Ask community reps about H4P/HECM for Purchase, an FHA-insured program. Tour sponsor RMF conducts free H4P seminars at communities and in their Denver offices. Call for reservations at 303-773-3077 and visit HECMCO.com.
