Great Public Schools...

The biggest investment aside from your home is in your children and their education. Homestead Farm is a neighborhood that allows you to take advantage of great public schools. It all starts at the elementary level, and around here, it starts with a bang.

Lois Lenski Elementary is one of the highest rated elementary schools in not only the state, but the country (the US Department of Education has named it a Blue Ribbon School of Excellence). Along with being academic accolades, Lenski has been awarded the National Library of the Year (2004) from the American Library Association. Lenski also has a phenomenal art program.

So the kids are really starting to look old, and with that comes middle school, and in this case, Isaac Newton Middle School. Newton is a very well rounded school from the music and performing arts programs to math and the sciences. While not a Blue Ribbon School of Excellence, I can speak personally to Newton's prowess (I went there way back when) and curriculum. Science labs, wood/metal shops, physical education and great field trips will help get the kids through the awkward stage of life we call middle school.

They are starting to become young adults, and aside from asking yourself how you got here so quickly is the need to challenge them as such. Arapahoe High School has been doing just that for almost half a century. Also a US Department of Education Blue Ribbon School of Excellence, AHS is one of the best high schools in the nation. Pushing teenagers in every area of academia imaginable (trust me, this is not an exaggeration) principal Ron Booth will get your children as well prepared as possible for college. Arapahoe boasts a graduation rate of over 94%, with a majority of graduates attending secondary education. Arapahoe excels in all areas, especially athletics (numerous state champions and runner-ups), band (multiple international and domestic trips) and in advanced placement classes.

Home is Whenever I'm With You

We all know that your home doesn't end at the front door. This is another aspect that makes Homestead Farm just that much better. When you make Homestead Farm your home, you are choosing to be part of a community that has been developing for over 30 years.

A short walk from anywhere in the neighborhood are the tennis courts and neighborhood pool. Our tennis courts have been completely resurfaced and leveled within the last five years, providing a great place to let loose in the cool evening after a hard day of work. Right across from the tennis courts is the neighborhood pool, where multiple generations of kids have grown up, by both spending their free time in the afternoon and through the swim team.

Every summer the entire neighborhood rallies around the Mighty Tarpons. Starting at age 4 on the Mini-Tarps, kids are immersed in a great sport from the get-go. From there they progress to the main team at age 7, and then can swim every summer until age 18. Although it always pained me to wake up so early in the summer for practice, I genuinely loved every minute of being a Tarpon. The team is part of the Rocky Mountain Swim League, which means that we compete against a ton of surrounding neighborhoods. Swim team is a great experience for all kids, and speaking as one that moved to Homestead Farm when I was 11, it was a great way to meet the neighborhood and make friends. I would recommend trying out the Mighty Tarpons to everyone.

Seasonal neighborhood events such as the summer kick-off party on Memorial Day, the 4th of July pool party and camping trip and the holiday luminaries and carriage ride provide great opportunities to get together with your neighbors and celebrate. Grilling, beer and good times are in abundance at the pool on both Memorial Day and the 4th. When it comes time to bundle up, the kids love the horse-drawn carriage ride. Set in the evening with all of the neighborhood streets lined with luminaries, cider (and possibly something a bit stronger) and a bon fire keep everyone warm on their throwback trip through the neighborhood.

Invest Now

Did you know that Denver is currently the #2 rental market in the country? With demand higher than it has ever been in the Mile High City for rental properties, vacancy rates are at all time lows (my dad's company, Simpson Housing Group, currently has occupancy levels around 95% for their Denver properties). Factor in some of the great deals you can find on short sales and bank-owned properties and this is the perfect time to buy an investment property (property you own and lease out, acting as the landlord or having a property management company help out). Rates are also at history lows (as everyone knows from all of the ads constantly playing) which means you can get a property below market value, with a super low interest rate, in a market that you can almost instantly lease it out. If any of this sounds intriguing to you, contact me, follow me, or comment and let's get you in an ownership position that is comfortable to you. Happy hunting.

Homestead Farm: Surprisingly Not a Farm

So I have decided that I am going to start doing some blogging on some great neighborhoods in my area, and the first is going to be of the neighborhood I was raised in and currently reside, Homestead Farm. I'm going to be discussing aspects of each neighborhood on a weekly basis, with the whole process per neighborhood taking about three weeks. Whether or not you live in the area, I hope this will provide some inside knowledge on the South Metro Denver area, so check back in weekly.