Page 1 of 3 1 2 3 LastLast
Results 1 to 25 of 67
  1. #1
    Join Date
    Sep 2009
    Posts
    463

    Buying in Silverton -- good idea or dumb?

    We are looking for a home in the Durango area but are priced out at the moment, and the rentals are depressing AF. There's a bunch of homes in Silverton that would do for us short-term -- like a $250,000 3/2, a place where we might live for a couple of years then move down valley. We are looking in the 300k range.

    Question for those who know: how hard is it to sell a home in Silverton? Or is it just a really annoying place to live (train traffic, Texans on ATVs, etc.)?

    Edit to say, what I mean is that if we buy a place there, will it be a serious PITA to sell?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Location
    base of the Bush
    Posts
    14,871
    Zillo shows lots of houses on the market that have been listed a long time.


    https://www.zillow.com
    www.apriliaforum.com

    "If the road You followed brought you to this,of what use was the road"?

    "I have no idea what I am talking about but would be happy to share my biased opinions as fact on the matter. "
    Ottime

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Mar 2011
    Location
    North,NorthEast
    Posts
    3,557
    From that link^
    Click image for larger version. 

Name:	IMG_3707.JPG 
Views:	198 
Size:	713.6 KB 
ID:	284176

    Estimated payment is only $94,700 a MONTH. And you’d have to relocate. You got this op

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Location
    Posts
    15,780
    PM Buster Highman.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Posts
    12,609
    I've heard there are some weird small town conflicts. Not a deal breaker but something to be aware of.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Oct 2003
    Location
    写道
    Posts
    13,434
    I loved Durango in the 90s, but no longer really care for it. The place is increasing becoming tragically hip, and too many "Bro-Brah" types. Fucking nauseating!

    I ended up in the Pagosa Springs area, about 40 minutes east of Durango. Fucking love it here! Home prices are increasing, however, and properties that are well-priced sell quickly, a fair number to Texans and Okies.

    I'm about three and a half (3.5) hours from both Taos and Telluride. Wheeeee!
    Daniel Ortega eats here.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Location
    Dreamland
    Posts
    1,103
    I think if you spent any time in Silverton you would not consider living there. Hundreds of thousands of tourists in the summer, and then mostly shut down, cold and isolated in the winter. Some long term locals love it, but that is a very small select group. If you are using it as a bedroom for working in Durango then you have two almost 11,000 ft. passes to cross each way. Slow tourists on switchbacks in the summer and dicey no guard rail drops in the winter. The only other paved road out of town is Red Mt. Pass, which is even worse.
    Gravity Junkie

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Location
    Teton Village
    Posts
    2,674
    Quote Originally Posted by shredgnar View Post
    I've heard there are some weird small town conflicts. Not a deal breaker but something to be aware of.
    It’s like being perpetually in middle school.
    Ski Shop - Basement of the Hostel



    Do not tell fish stories where the people know you; but particularly, don't tell them where they know the fish.

    Mark Twain

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    your vacation
    Posts
    4,718
    do you want to really live in a small mountain tourist town that is cold and more like winter all year than summer?
    or is it just a fantasy that you made up in your head about how great life will be?
    seriously? See it all the time, people have a made up version of what living in a ski/tourist town is like, the reality is nothing like the fantasy

    boomers retiring are driving up property prices, as soon as they all make their way to nursing homes, the cost of property will start dropping, only a couple more years

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Oct 2003
    Location
    In Your Wife
    Posts
    8,291
    Quote Originally Posted by fastfred View Post
    do you want to really live in a small mountain tourist town that is cold and more like winter all year than summer?
    Yes, yes, one thousand times over, yes. Been there, done that, left it for the sprawling, temperate suburban wasteland and I can't wait to get back. Give me frost from September to June.

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Dec 2012
    Location
    betwixt the Silvers and Saint Johns
    Posts
    538
    Yeah it's takes special person to want to live in Silverton for all the reasons listed above- and if Durango is your aim you are 2 passes and at best an hour away. Look at Mancos or Bayfield if you want to be in the Durango area.
    Last edited by Tele 'til You're Smelly; 05-30-2019 at 09:12 AM.

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Location
    Sedrun CH
    Posts
    468
    Quote Originally Posted by fastfred View Post
    do you want to really live in a small mountain tourist town that is cold and more like winter all year than summer?
    or is it just a fantasy that you made up in your head about how great life will be?
    seriously? See it all the time, people have a made up version of what living in a ski/tourist town is like, the reality is nothing like the fantasy

    boomers retiring are driving up property prices, as soon as they all make their way to nursing homes, the cost of property will start dropping, only a couple more years
    We did just that and love it!!! Mud season is our vacation time, the rest of the year is like living in paradise, but we live and work in the same Village... actually in the same house.
    And yes, Buster is the man to ask for advise... especially on Silverton

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Location
    Posts
    15,780
    Quote Originally Posted by skiing-in-jackson View Post
    It’s like being perpetually in middle school.
    Or a gun control thread on TRG.

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    Seattle
    Posts
    414
    Quote Originally Posted by fastfred View Post

    boomers retiring are driving up property prices, as soon as they all make their way to nursing homes, the cost of property will start dropping, only a couple more years
    This is the biggest fantasy of all.

    I’ve owned a cheap house in Durango for 15 years. Even during the great real estate crash of 08, the value of it barely dropped. There are always more people who want to buy cheap houses there than want to sell houses.

    The exception would be for million-dollar, rich-people houses, but unless you are a dentist they are out of reach anyhow.
    U.P.: up

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Sep 2001
    Location
    Before
    Posts
    27,910
    Quote Originally Posted by cloud cult View Post
    We are looking for a home in the Durango area but are priced out at the moment, and the rentals are depressing AF. There's a bunch of homes in Silverton that would do for us short-term -- like a $250,000 3/2, a place where we might live for a couple of years then move down valley. We are looking in the 300k range.

    Question for those who know: how hard is it to sell a home in Silverton? Or is it just a really annoying place to live (train traffic, Texans on ATVs, etc.)?

    Edit to say, what I mean is that if we buy a place there, will it be a serious PITA to sell?
    Houses do not move fast in Silverton. Places do sell, but it can take time and is likely more susceptible to economic downturns. A lot of the homes for sale are older and funky and most people with sufficient second home bling want something nicer. I think that contributes to a slow turnover rate.

    As far as the tourists and trains go, the 4th of July is stupid there with lots of dentists in leather riding Harleys trying to look tough. 3 years ago, the town voted in the legality of riding atvs in town, supposedly limited to certain streets. This has brought the yahoos in in droves through July. Last couple of years, there was a flight for life virtually every day in July because of mixing idiots with atvs.

    But then by the second week of August, it calms down again and the fall is gorgeous and quiet. Winter is fantastic, quiet with lots of snow and so many great places to ski and a wonderful ski community with a ton of resources. It's a super nice place during the school season with great groups of people, some of whom are pretty hermitian. It's getting better and better with the Avalon and Wyman being upgraded and of course the Avalanche and Coffee Bear.

    Silverton, like many small towns, can have some pretty divisive dynamics. There's the old miner, redneck types who love the atvs, guns, hunting, fishing, off roading and lack of restrictions. Then there's the newer (only 20 years there or so) more hip folks who prefer a quieter, more environmentally conscious lifestyle. We think it's a beautiful, unique place.

    There's a big demand for lodging there in summer. I'm told some people get over $500/night for a couple of rooms and a kitchenette and that they can make their mortgages on summer sublets/Airbnb . So there is some financial backing for owning a place there.

    If Durango is your locus, like others have said, it's more likely that you can find something better to service Durango access than Silverton, like Bayfield, Mancos, Hesperus, Piedra, even Farmington (though I'd skip Aztec). Basically, you need to get outside the Ft. Lewis College convenient student commute to find something less expensive. I do, however, know several people who live in Silverton and commute to DGO.

    If you want references for a realtor there I can point you in a good direction. Good luck!
    Last edited by Buster Highmen; 05-30-2019 at 08:58 AM.
    Merde De Glace On the Freak When Ski
    >>>200 cm Black Bamboo Sidewalled DPS Lotus 120 : Best Skis Ever <<<

  16. #16
    Join Date
    Jul 2012
    Location
    getting warmer...
    Posts
    457
    I've lived in both Durango and Ouray, and would say Silverton would be a pretty rough place to try and commute from. Hwy 550 is a beautiful scenic drive but a shitty way to get from A-B.

    I agree with the others recommending Mancos or Bayfield. Pagosa is a nice niche of its own but maybe a bit further than I'd want to commute to Durango from. I'd never consider Farmington or any of the other commutable spots in NM. Not nice places, IME.

    Also, Silverton (and Ouray) are haunted as fuck, especially the older houses that have seen their share of sorrow. I never believed in that until I lived it in Ouray. It's no joke. You've been warned.

  17. #17
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Posts
    12,609
    Also, if access to definitive medical care is a consideration for you, like a prego wife, or age, or health conditions, you might want to look elsewhere too. FFL isn't always an option. This is why a lot of older folks avoid these small remote towns.

  18. #18
    Join Date
    Oct 2003
    Location
    In Your Wife
    Posts
    8,291
    Quote Originally Posted by shredgnar View Post
    Also, if access to definitive medical care is a consideration for you, like a prego wife, or age, or health conditions, you might want to look elsewhere too. FFL isn't always an option. This is why a lot of older folks avoid these small remote towns.
    As my dad would shrug and say "hey, sometimes, it's just your time."

  19. #19
    Join Date
    Sep 2001
    Location
    The Cone of Uncertainty
    Posts
    49,306
    Or as my Dad would say, "hey drive me over to the world-class medical facility that's just down the road, please."

  20. #20
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Posts
    12,609
    Quote Originally Posted by glademaster View Post
    As my dad would shrug and say "hey, sometimes, it's just your time."
    Not even a life vs death argument, but having to drive to Durango or Montrose a few times a month for medical treatments would definitely make this a consideration.

    Silverton is probably a good place to rent for a year or two to see if you like it at all. Would be nice to have that option to walk away. Probably pretty cheap rents available.

  21. #21
    Join Date
    Oct 2003
    Location
    In Your Wife
    Posts
    8,291
    Quote Originally Posted by iceman View Post
    Or as my Dad would say, "hey drive me over to the world-class medical facility that's just down the road, please."

    He's a doctor, he doesn't want to deal with that shit. Minimal intervention until it's lights out has always been his approach. The last time he had a physical was probably around when I hit puberty.

    There's a bit of a fatalistic streak on that side of the family too, his parents are both in their 90's and have been joking around for about 15 years now about how they're just biding their time until they get planted in the marble orchard.

  22. #22
    Join Date
    Oct 2002
    Location
    Shadynasty's Jazz Club
    Posts
    10,248
    Wife’s grandpa called it circling the drain.
    Remind me. We'll send him a red cap and a Speedo.

  23. #23
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Location
    General Sherman's Favorite City
    Posts
    35,249
    Sounds like people are dying to leave Silverton
    I still call it The Jake.

  24. #24
    Join Date
    Mar 2014
    Location
    It's Full of Stars....
    Posts
    4,850
    Quote Originally Posted by ate'em View Post

    Also, Silverton (and Ouray) are haunted as fuck, especially the older houses that have seen their share of sorrow. I never believed in that until I lived it in Ouray. It's no joke. You've been warned.
    Wait wut? Care to expand on this?
    What we have here is an intelligence failure. You may be familiar with staring directly at that when shaving. .
    -Ottime
    One man can only push so many boulders up hills at one time.
    -BMillsSkier

  25. #25
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Location
    General Sherman's Favorite City
    Posts
    35,249
    Quote Originally Posted by seano732 View Post
    Wait wut? Care to expand on this?
    Up next on KUSA news, the ghosts that dominate the San Juans and how they affect your home buying process.

    After these messages from our friends at CitriCal.
    I still call it The Jake.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •