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Denver Federal Center

100 Real Estate Tips in 100 Days(Day 66)

What is now the Denver Federal Center was settled in the 1860's as a ranch for Arabian horses, In the early part of the 20th century, the former horse ranch became a cattle ranch, comprising over 20,000 acres in what was then range land between Denver and the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. The Federal Government, with war raging in Europe and seeing potential of enormous ammunition needs, purchased 2000 acres from the Hayden family in 1940 for the express purpose of building an ordnance plant. The site was chosen because of its location far from any shore, and more immune to sabotage.

Construction was started in March of 1941, and by September of that year, the Remington Arms Company began to produce various types of ammunition for the military in the over 200 buildings constructed on the site. At the height of production in 1943 over 6 million cartridges were produced every day by the 22,000 employees working 24/7 at the facility.

After the war, the plant became surplus property, and the General Services Administration began to turn the existing buildings into offices for various Federal agencies. Today's 670 acre site is home to 26 government agencies, the largest concentration of Federal agencies outside of Washington, D.C.

Some parts of the northwest corner of the current Federal Center have been sold to St. Anthony's Hospital, with that facility to be moved from its present antiquated location in west Denver in the near future. Another section has been sold to The Regional Transportation District, and will be the site for a large Park-n-ride to accompany the new light rail Gold Line currently under construction.

The Center, officially annexed to the City of Lakewood in 2007, will continue to have and impact on the economy of metro Denver well into the future.

Carbon Monoxide Alarms

100 Real Estate Tips in 100 Days (Day 65)

During the winter months of 2008 there were two incidents of CO2 poisoning resulting in death in Colorado. Both incidents generated considerable attention from the media, resulting in public and legislative pressure to respond to the latest incidents, and many previous incidents, with legislative action. A bill was introduced in the Colorado House of Representatives on January 12, 2009 requiring Carbon Monoxide detectors be placed in residential dwelling units, which passed, and was forwarded to the Colorado Senate.

With passage of the bill, Governor Ritter signed the Bill into law on March 24, 2009, with an effective date of July 1, 2009. So what does this new law mean to the Colorado housing consumer?

For sellers and landlords, it means that residential dwellings sold or rented after July 1, 2009, just have a UL approved Carbon Monoxide Detector. Various requirements are mentioned in the law, but the simple fact is, transfers or rentals MUST have a detector in place after July I, 2009. The Real Estate Commission has been instructed to revise property listing contracts to properly inform residential property sellers of the new law. While real estate licensees are not required to enforce the new law, it should be obvious that sellers must comply or risk considerable complications. For landlords, failure to provide the required detectors provides untenable exposure in the event of an incident where the landlord is found in violation of the law.

For buyers, as well as tenants, failure of the seller or landlord to provide detectors is cause to void a sales contract or lease agreement. There may be other ramifications of this law, such as appraisal requirements in the event of a sale, as well as other potential lender requirements. It will be incumbent upon real estate licensees to inform both buyers and sellers of this law.

The Many Hospitals of Metro Denver

100 Real Estate & Relocation Tips in 100 Days (Day 62)

Like most major cities, Denver is well represented by the health care industry. We will speak to the top 25 hospitals in the Metro Denver area:

Hospitals located close to the city center include St. Joseph, Presbyterian-St Luke's Medical Center, and Denver Health , the city owned hospital and Level 1 Trauma center. St. Anthony's Hospital, also a level 1 Trauma center, is located in extreme west Denver, and serves more Jefferson County residents than Denver residents. Lutheran Medical Center, located in Wheatridge also serves the west side of the Metro area.

Swedish Hospital, located in Englewood, is the area's third Level 1 Trauma center. Swedish is convenient for residents of Littleton, Douglas County, and southern Jefferson County. Porter Hospital, in south Denver, also serves residents of south Denver and the southern suburbs. Littleton Adventist Hospital provides service to Littleton and Highlands Ranch. Lonetree's Sky Ridge Medical Center provides service to central Douglas County and Castle Rock, while Parker's Adventist Hospital serves the Parker area and parts of southern Aurora.

Rose Medical Center can be found in east Denver, along with the Veterans Affairs Medical Center (soon to be moving to the Anschutz Campus in Aurora). Further east is the Medical Center of Aurora facilities, and the Anschutz Campus. This facility is the result of the vision of the University of Colorado and the City of Aurora in redeveloping the former Fitzsimons Army Medical Center into a huge medical and bio research center. Currently the home of Children's Hospital and the University of Colorado Hospital, the campus will soon be the location of a new Veterans Affairs Hospital. The remarkable Spalding Rehabilitation Hospital is also located in Aurora.

Denver's northern suburbs are served by North Valley Hospital and North Suburban Medical Center are both located in Thornton, while St. Anthony's North is located in Westminster, and Platte Valley Medical Center in Brighton.

Reaching a little further north into Boulder County, we find Good Samaritan Hospital in Lafayette, Centennial Peaks and Avista Adventist, both hospitals located in Louisville. Longmont United Hospital serves the extreme north suburban area, and Boulder is the home of Boulder Community Hospital.

Of course, there are numerous surgical centers, urgent care facilities, and special treatment and research centers, such as National Jewish Hospital, one of the world's foremost respiratory research centers. Metro Denver has 2 medical evacuation helicopter services, and first class paramedic service provided by Denver Health and area fire departments.

Of course, no one wants to be hospitalized, but it is good to know that Metro Denver has top notch facilities located all over the area.

Sex Offenders and your Home Buying Experience

100 Real Estate & Relocation Tips in 100 Days (Day 61)

by Larry McGee, Guest Blogger from Denver IQ

To start with, let us hope that there are no sex offenders (or any other kind of offenders) in any way involved with your home buying experience. The Colorado Buyer's Agency Contracts have an important reference to Megan' s Law, which provides the home buyers with an important but seldom discussed right in the due diligence process. Before we get into all of that, let's hop on the Way Back Machine and turn the clock back to the 1950's.

I have often wondered where the sex offenders were hanging out when I was growing up in suburban Denver. I am not certain if it was a combination of less tolerance and tight lips, or the fact that the city was not as large and propriety was still important, but as a child, sex offenders just never seemed to be an issue. I suppose we had those kinds of folks in our society in the 50's and 60's, and maybe the "Mom" network just did a group protection thing, but the problem was simply not discussed at the time. Even during my time as a police officer in the 1970's, sex offenses, especially against children, certainly was not a crime on the Radar of most cops of the era.

For whatever reason, things have changed, and many parents want to know if there is a sex offender anywhere near the sanctuary of their proposed home.

If the issue is one of concern to you as a home buyer, there are two very important things you can and should do:

1. Check with the County Sheriff or local Police Agency for information regarding registered sex offenders residing "near" (your definition) your prospective home purchase. The information is public knowledge, and most law enforcement agencies have that information accessible on their WEB sites. Your Realtor® should not be providing that information to you, and you should not ask, for what seem obvious reasons. (Many Counties have email opt-in subscriptions lists that will notify you when someone registers in your County. See previous post about "What County are You In? For links to Metro Denver Counties)
2. You, the buyer, should perform some personal due diligence with your prospective neighbors. Knock on a few doors, get to know the people that you intend to live next to, and ask questions about the neighborhood. All kinds of questions, not just about sex offenders. If you are not pleased with the answers you receive, then move on to the next house.

It is sad really that the non-threatening time of "Leave it to Beaver" and "Father Knows Best" are gone forever, but it is the reality. Houses are big, expensive things, and the task of making a house your home is challenging. Take the time to be comfortable with your neighborhood, as well as the house, before you buy.

Highest Walk Score Denver Neighborhoods

100 Real Estate & Relocation Tips in 100 Days (Day 60)

I great tool for assisting the home buyer in choosing the right place to live is the Walk Score. By assigning points to a neighborhood's walk factors and then employing the use of an algorithm to calculate comparative results, the Walk Score people have devised a way to score the relationship between convenience and placing one foot in front of the other. The following breakdown is taken directly from the Walk Score website:

• 100 = Walkers' Paradise: Most errands can be accomplished on foot and many people get by without owning a car.
• 70-89 = Very Walkable: It's possible to get by without owning a car.
• 50-69 = Somewhat Walkable: Some stores and amenities are within walking distance, but many everyday trips still require a bike, public transportation, or car.
• 25-49 = Car-Dependent: Only a few destinations are within easy walking range. For most errands, driving or public transportation is a must.
• 0-24 = Car-Dependent (Driving Only): Virtually no neighborhood destinations within walking range. You can walk from your house to your car!

Denver's Walk Score is # 11 among 40 major cities surveyed. Not bad for a city that was built around the automobile, and until just a few short years ago had no light rail system.

If you are searching for homes using information provided by Metro Denver's MLS system, Metrolist Inc., which is employed by every Realtors® search site, you can find the Walk Score for most addresses located on each property listing.

Denver's top ten walkable neighborhoods with their Walk Score are listed below:

Denver is also very bike friendly, but that is a topic for another day.