How Do I Plan a House-Hunting Trip When I'm Moving to Boulder County?

How do you plan a house-hunting trip when you're moving to Boulder County? You do most of the looking before you get on the plane. Get pre-approved, pick two or three towns by talking through how you'll live, narrow the homes by video, and then use your trip to see your top choices and spend time in the towns themselves. A good trip ends with you ready to make a decision, not just tired from a long weekend of showings.

A house-hunting trip is usually short and expensive. You've got a few days, a rental car and a long list. Many people try to see everything and fly home more confused than when they landed. The fix isn't a longer trip. It's a better plan.

I'm Carol, and Homes by Carol is my real estate practice in Erie. Carol Vanlandingham is a REALTOR® with eXp Realty in Erie, Colorado, helping people through life transitions, downsizing, first homes and relocation across Erie, Boulder County and Northern Colorado. I've lived in this area for over 31 years, and a lot of my work is with people moving here from somewhere else.

The work you do from home decides how useful your visit will be. Here's what I ask my relocation buyers to finish first.

• Get pre-approved. I ask every buyer to do this before touring, and it matters even more when you may need to decide during a short visit. If you need a lender, I have a list I recommend. You can read about getting ready.
• Have a call with me. I learn where you'll be working, how you spend your weekends and what you want close by. Then I suggest a few towns to look at.
• Narrow the towns. Two or three is plenty for one trip. My article on choosing between Erie, Longmont, Niwot and Boulder walks through how to compare them.
• Narrow the homes by video. I walk through homes and streets with you by video, so you see what the photos leave out. By the time you travel, you're only seeing real contenders.
• Pick your dates around your move. We work backward from your start date so you aren't rushed at the end.

Every trip is a little different, but this is the shape I build most of them around.

Step 1: Arrive and get your bearings

Erie is about 35 minutes from Denver International Airport, depending on traffic. If you land in the afternoon, don't schedule showings that day. Drive the towns you're considering instead. Get a feel for the roads, find a grocery store and notice the views. It's a quiet way to start.

Step 2: Spend a morning in each town

Before you walk into a single house, spend a little time in each town. In Erie, that might be the rec center in the middle of town, a local restaurant or, on a summer Thursday evening, the farmers market. In Longmont, you'll get a view of Longs Peak from most neighborhoods, plus a rec center and a YMCA. In Niwot, walk the Old Town storefronts along Second Avenue. In Boulder, it's Pearl Street and the area around CU Boulder.

You're not judging a town by one visit. You're seeing whether it feels like a place you could picture an ordinary Tuesday.

Step 3: Tour your top homes

I plan the route so you see homes and get a feel for each town in the same trip. A shorter list with real contenders beats a long list of maybes. Take photos and short notes after each house, because they start to blur together by the third one.

Step 4: Drive your real commute

If you'll be driving to work, do that drive at the time you'd actually make it. Erie is about 15 minutes to Boulder and to Longmont, and about 40 minutes to Denver, depending on traffic. Niwot sits on State Highway 119, about halfway between Boulder and Longmont. Longmont has a quick drive to the airport using the E-470 toll road. A map gives you the distance. The drive gives you the answer.

Step 5: Leave room to go back

Save the last part of your trip for a second look at your favorite home or two. A second visit often settles a question the first one raised.

Step 6: Decide what happens next

Before you fly home, we sit down together. Maybe you're ready to make an offer. Maybe you want to see one more home by video. Maybe you want more time. All of those are fine. You decide. I advise.

Some people can't travel before they need to buy. Some buyers do purchase without seeing a home in person, using video tours and a professional inspection. It takes more care, and it's not right for everyone. I wrote about it in my article on buying a home sight unseen in Boulder County.

Either way, most documents can be signed electronically from wherever you are, and I keep track of the dates for you.

One of my favorite moves wasn't a relocation, but it taught me the same lesson. A couple had lived in their three-level Boulder home for 37 years. They wanted single-level living for their next chapter. What mattered most wasn't the house. It was staying close to their doctors, their friends and the life they'd built over decades.

We found them a home in Erie that gave them both. We weren't trying to find less. We were trying to find better for them now. After closing, we had dinner together to celebrate.

When you're moving here from far away, you're building that life from scratch. That's why I spend so much of a house-hunting trip on the towns, not only the houses.

These are the ones I see most often.

• Booking the trip before getting pre-approved. You find the right home and can't act on it before your flight leaves.
• Trying to see every town. Two or three towns in one trip is plenty. More than that and they start to run together.
• Touring too many houses. Fifteen showings in two days leaves you with blurry memories and no clear favorite. Narrow by video first.
• Never leaving the car. Walk a street, buy a coffee, sit in a park. A town feels different on foot.
• Skipping the commute. The drive you'll make every day matters more than a pretty kitchen.
• Feeling like you have to decide before you fly home. Sometimes the right answer is another video tour or a second trip. Feeling rushed is how people buy before they understand an area.

How long should a house-hunting trip to Boulder County be?

Long enough to see your top homes and spend real time in two or three towns. Many of my buyers do it in a few days because they've narrowed the list by video before they arrive.

Do I need to be pre-approved before my trip?

Yes. I ask every buyer to be pre-approved before we tour, and it matters even more when you may want to make an offer during a short visit.

Can you help me if I'm moving here for a medical job?

Yes. Much of my relocation work is with physicians moving to the area. I've put together a physician relocation packet with local information, and I'm glad to send it. Ask for it through my contact page.

Which towns should I look at first?

That depends on where you'll work and how you want to live. We start with a call, and I suggest a few towns based on what you tell me. You can also read about each one, starting with my Erie page.

I'd rather help you plan a calm trip than a rushed one. You can read more about how I help people relocating to Erie and Boulder County. When you have a rough idea of your dates, send me a note or call me at (303) 522-3130, and we'll build the trip around them.