House Hunt

Most of the fall chores have been completed but our cottonwood tree still has about 1/3 of its leaves yet to fall. Another weekend or two and the leaf season should be over.

Our focus has shifted to looking at a retirement house. Last weekend we made two different trips; one to the Divide, Colorado area which is more eastern slope, also known as the Front Range, and a second [overnight] trip to the Durango, Colorado area, which is in the southwest [four corners] part of the state.  We viewed a variety of houses but none said “buy me” to us.

The first house in Divide was in an older subdivision and had views of Pike’s Peak. However, the layout was funky and the place had a lot of steps. Electrical was also an issue; extension cords painted to match the wall color ran up to the overhead fans [not code], for example. Despite some updates in the kitchen and main bath, we were not impressed.

Other places in the Divide area were drive-by stops and we did not get into the houses. One looks to have potential, but what would we do with a horse paddock area? On the up side, we did meet a realtor who seems to be personable and we may work with him in future.

Same trip included a stop at The Lot to check on the shed and take a general look around. It was a very nice day in the high country and an enjoyable quick visit.

Pam at The Lot

South Park from The Lot

Our second trip was an overnighter to Durango. Pam had been keeping tabs on several properties around Vallicito Lake to visit. This had been an on-again, off-again trip due to the weather forecast including snow over Red Mountain Pass. At the last minute it was a “go” and we braved the weather.

Pam had contacted a Vallecito Lake area realtor and we hooked up with her at her office. The realtor, Marilyn, drove us around the area in her 4-door Jeep.  (Dogs stayed at home, the neighbor watched them overnight.)

The houses ranged from very small to quite large, with price ranges to match. Our ‘wish list’ includes 2 – 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, and a lot with a view or water of some type. A garage is highly desirable.

Only one of the 5 properties we visited had everything we wanted, but the house was a manufactured home and Pam would prefer a stick-built home. The price was over our target but at least we know houses that meet our general criteria exist at Vallecito Lake.

Here are “view” photos taken from some of the properties we visited:

Middle Mountain Road

Tucker Lane (Pond with fish in it.)

Grimes Creek

Vista Estates

By the time we finished four hours had passed, and the snow had started falling, so we drove through the dark and flurries back to our hotel in Durango.

The next morning we looked at weather cams for Red Mountain Pass and decided to head for home after breakfast instead of spending more time around Durango. This proved to be a good plan as the trip back was very slow due to road conditions (and getting stuck behind a large semi-truck). The leg between Silverton and Ouray – 24 miles – took an hour in and of itself. Here are some views of  the trip home over Red Mountain.

Hwy 550 in winter – few guard rails

Twilight Peak near Durango

Road conditions on Hwy 550

House-hunting is a humbling experience. Colorado real estate is expensive particularly when we’re trying to plan on living within a retirement income. Many of the places we looked at would need renovation or upgrades, not to mention a garage. (Garages are something of a luxury in homes designed primarily as 2nd houses for summer vacations.) The search will continue (it’s only just begun, really), but we may have to amass a larger down payment to make a retirement mortgage affordable.  We enjoy getting out and looking at places, though, and have plans to make more real estate hunting trips during the winter.

That’s it for now. Thank for looking in!

Pam’s Two Cents Worth:

Who knew there was so much shag carpet and so many avocado appliances still left out there?  I mentioned this to one of my younger co-workers at the community college, and she said, “What are avocado appliances?”  Call me older than dirt to remember not only avocado, but also harvest gold and almond appliance colors. Having been there for the original issue, I’m certain I do not want these colors in my future kitchen.

Happy Trails.

Avocado appliances (Web photo.)