My husband and I have lived in Green Valley Ranch since 2004. We love it here. It's fairly quite, not crowded. There's lots of families just trying to make a better life here. Our neighbors are great, everyone is friendly and most try hard to keep their yards nice and neat. For the most part, everyone seems to be mindful of one another. Our Oakwood home is beautifully built. Its 2x6 construction environmentally safe insulation, quality concrete roof, stucco and cultured stone exterior. We've got all the room we could possibly want at over 4500 square feet. We've added a fully finished basement, that gives us another 900 square feet, and an in-ground pool. Pat Hamill, the owner of Oakwood has made a significant contribution in this community, with parks, community centers, supporting the new schools going in, etc - he's been amazing. And after having previously lived in Highlands Ranch, Douglas County....all I can say is I'm so thankful to have Denver/Denver County services! There's real sidewalks and parkway trees that in years to come, will continue to enhance the neighborhood.
Yes - This community is going through some changes due to the economic downturn, but its a real gem and for us, a long term investment we'd encourage others to make!
PS: If you're a golfer - Green Valley Ranch Golf Club and the Golf Academy is fantastic!

We have lived in GVR for 5 years, there is nothing wrong with it. We have had no problems with our house which is 5 years old, it is a quiet neighborhood, and we personally have not experienced any crime whatsoever. Lots of kids and dog lovers. We love it here!

Deborah, location is the most important consideration when buying a home. You are smart to try to gain information regarding any prospective new area. While one person may love living in an area it may not suit another's lifestyle at all. I recommend visting the area at different times during the day and evening during the week and weekend to see how it fits your lifestyle. Since you are in Colorado Springs this may be hard to do. So, you might want to find a realtor you trust and allocate a block of time to view homes in the area a couple of times before you make any big decision. Also, there are many websites that provide good unbiased statistical data, such as http://www.city-data.com. There are some good bargains throughout the metro area as well as Green Valley Ranch, so there are many options available to you. Realtors cannot steer clients to or away from a specific area, but we can provide you information on the housing market as you investigate your future neighborhood. Good Luck on your search.

I visited Green Valley Ranch on a few separate occasions last year. Based on my impressions, I would never buy there. The houses are cheaply made and stacked on top of one another. 5 or 10 years from now that place is going to be scary. Even now, crime is a growing concern. I did some shopping there and the parking lot was full of young guys hanging out playing their car stereos.

I'm a mom too and I would rather rent an apartment in a safer, more established area than buy a house in Green Valley Ranch.

Hi Deborah,

I have attached a link below that should provide you with a good starting point in regards to statistical information. Personally I have a good friend that lives in Green Valley Ranch and her husband works nights on 3-4 day stretches...she has never mentioned to me that she felt unsafe or concerned about anyone in her immediate community.
Although Green Valley Ranch has had considerable foreclosures, the area is fairly close to downtown and only 15-20 minutes from Denver International Airport. I encourage you to preview several areas in Denver. Southeast Aurora has wonderful schools and depending of your price point...you could possible get into a nice, relatively new home for the mid 200's. Let me know if you want more information on the property mentioned. I would attach a link to the review I wrote on the home, but I think statically data is more of what you are looking for in GVR.

I was out in GVR today previewing some homes. There are approximately 100+ active listings in GVR and yes, there are foreclosures as well. It is a well kept newer community. Realtors can provide you information so that you can investigate for yourself items such as crime, schools, community info, etc. and it is up to you to determine if the area is right for you. I see that you've been provided resources for this type of information, so I encourage you to do your homework. Set your critiera of what you want in an area e.g., schools, walkability to amenities, shopping, proximity to work, home criteria, and so on. The more specific you are about your future home, the easier it is for your Realtor to assist you in finding the right home. I'd be happy to help you and can be contacted via my email and or via my website. Regards!

To paraphrase, the real estate commission’s strand on questions of this nature, you pick the area you are interested in, Realtors can provide information with respect to the area and it's ultimately the buyer's choice as to where they want to live. http://www.SimpleHomeFinder.com has community, school, tax, etc. information on Green Valley Ranch as well as all communities in our MLS. I suggest you visit that site so you can see the crime rate and quality of schools in that area and more.

One of my buyers just moved into Green Valley and I got him a very good deal. It was also an area he wanted to live in before and after he reviewed the statistics. One should note that it is in a high foreclosure area.

I did some work there yesterday and found a couple of pockets of homes that I think have some real potential in terms of value and community feel. I might suggest that you spend some time in the area, talk to home owners and get a true feel for the neighborhood, but overall think it is coming back and in a couple of years will be a great place to live and raise a family.
good luck.
Chuck Strauss
Keller Williams DTC
720-318-7598
CStrauss@kw.com

I've lived in GVR twice and liked it both times. You do have to compete with Oakwood Homes as a builder but other than that their houses are really nice with the tiled roofs and hey they're still in business! I'm getting ready to move back out there to the Bungalows. My kids went to both schools out there and did really well at Marrama and MLK. They went to George Washington for high school, but I had moved into a different neighborhood. I would not recommend them going to Montbello for high school, I would put pressure on DPS to build the high school that GVR was promised years ago.

I'm excited about moving back...it's a quiet neighborhood for the most part and with all the new businesses opening it's not miles back and forth to go grocery shopping any more.

If you like living near the airport, then yes. It's waaaay out there and because the houses are large and priced low, even though the market is down, I'd be concerned about the quality of the build. I'm a CO native and I wouldn't want to be out there near the Rocky Mtn Arsenal even though they say they've cleaned it up well. I personally prefer living near the foothills where it's somewhat protected and yet still near major highways and the mountains. I grew up in Golden and Lakewood and so those are the area that I know to be safe. Also South Denver, Englwood, Littleton, Wash Park... those are decent areas as well. GVR is just too far out and not a proven area of stability.

GVR is not a good place to live at the moment. I would give it a couple years to see if it gets better. It was a master planned community like Highlands Ranch, but it didn't turn out like HR. When the community came together, there was a lot of mortgage fraud and therefore there is a lot of foreclosure.

Also, there is an element of crime and housing prices are decreasing.

Deborah,

Just for timely information, did a search of homes available in Green Valley Ranch from $00 to $200,000, there were over 100 homes available that have at least 3 bedr 2 baths with Garage for 2 cars and at least 1,000 sq ft. In Green Valley Ranch you would have a lot of choices for homes.

However keeping in mind about schools for your 2 year old son, Green Valley Ranch is serviced by Denver Public School System.

There are other areas about the same price range that you can also look that give you choice of school systems for your son. Parts of Aurora are in the Cherry Creek School system and in Aurora Public Schools.

Even in Parker there are some homes available in the price range I mentioned and Parker is in the Douglas County School system.

In the southern Denver metro area Douglas County Schools and Cherry Creek Schools are considered by most buyers and home owners to be very decent school systems.

If you are looking for Community events, Low crime rate and decent schools, you will need a variety of information sources to help you make a decision you will be happy with for the next 5 to 7 years since your son is now 2 years old.

This really is a situation where you will want to talk with people you know in the area you have an interest in, as well as websites and Realtors to give you a better picture of the areas you might be interested in.

Yes there are tons of sites so if it helps here is another one it is http://www.city-data.com

This site provides a wealth of information, almost too much. It's a great site to start that info search.

If you need help regarding specifics of areas or interpret information, feel free to contact me through email or phone at my website.

Good Luck

Bill

Green Valley Ranch has a lot of different homes/styles available at affordable prices. As far as community and schools, several Denver metro areas are worth looking at, because that is such a personal preference.

Schools and school districts are important to consider since your two-year old will have all of that ahead of him. Cherry Creek, Douglas County and Jefferson County schools have top ratings. There are also many excellent charter schools.

As far as crime, you need to check with the Denver Police or whatever area you decide to live in to find out the statistics.

If I can be of any further help, please let me know. Good Luck! Peggy Payton Cherry Tree Properties, Inc.
303-694-1111

For community information, Oakwood homes provides the following link:
http://www.gvrco.com/greenvalley.asp?cid=1
Crime statistics, from a variety of sources, here's a list of all within the past 6 months:
http://www.denvergov.org/denvermaps/report.asp?add=&park…
And schools:
http://www.dpsk12.org/

Hope this helps. Contact me if you want my opinion, and not just websites
Chuck Strauss
720-318-7598
CStrauss@kw.com