by Osman Parvez

CU Boulder: Buy or Rent? A Parents Survival Guide.

So, your child is coming to CU Boulder and you aren’t sure what to do about housing? Perhaps they’re already here and after paying for on-campus housing or renting, you are re-thinking your options and wondering whether you should do the same next year. Does it make more financial sense to buy a condo or house?

The infamous “pre-leasing” season for Boulder apartments is only a few months away and it’s time to start doing your homework.

Our main research article in the next Realty Unique Report is a CU parent’s guide to buying or renting. Our goal with this article is to help you sort through the issues, avoid the pitfalls, and make an intelligent decision. We’ll attempt to address common questions and help make sense of the whole process. If you’d like a personal consultation and expert real estate advise, please contact us.

Here are a few common questions we’ll address:

1. Does buying make economic sense at today’s prices? We’ve built our own financial model that takes into account holding period, expected appreciation, purchase price, mortgage rate, down payment, and more to help you do the math. Surprisingly, the appreciation rate doesn’t have to be that high for buying to make a great deal more sense than renting. With our model, you simply plug in your assumptions (financial information, the specifics of the property, etc) and it will generate a comparison of buying versus renting.

2. What are the pros and cons of buying or renting in different parts of Boulder? Should you choose Gold Run, University Hill, Martin Acres, or Downtown? Is rioting on the Hill really a problem? Do you want your child to live in party central? How are the crime rates?

3. Is it better to invest in a condo or a residential home? Most people know that homes tend to appreciate faster than condos, but did you know that certain condo developments in Boulder are now selling much quicker than homes? When one of these properties comes on the market, it often goes under contract in days, indicating much greater liquidity for an investor.

4. If I rent out extra rooms, how much should I expect to get? If my child has moved away, should I hire a property manager?

5. Which areas of town are appreciating most quickly? What areas are up and coming? Are there parts of town I should avoid?

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