Families that meet the low income requirements set by HUD annually (check here), the Denver Housing Authority (DHA) owns and manages over 3,900 subsidized, and affordable rate units. The properties range from townhomes, to high-rise communities, to scattered single family homes throughout the City and County of Denver. To review the property list, visit DHA’s website.

You can Home Share through Home Partners. This program allows you to find a home to rent, with the option (but no obligation) to buy within the next 3-5 years. You apply, qualify, and find a home for sale on the market, then Home Partners will buy it. You then rent the home from them and have the right to buy it for their listed market price (your rent does not go towards the purchase). The lowest rent available is typically $1200 and you can even search for houses near local high schools. This is a great option to test out a home before you buy it and complete the loan process on your timeline! Visit the Home Partners website for more information, including income minimums; eviction, criminal, and bankruptcy background checks; and stable employment. 

You can homeshare with a senior through Sunshine Homeshare. This program matches seniors with available rooms to those seeking more affordable housing. This helps a senior remain in their home and helps those seeking housing get discounted rent in exchange for household chores. The program involves an extensive matching process and a week long test-run. To learn more and apply, visit Sunshine Homeshare’s website.

The most effective websites to search for rentals in the Denver area are:

• Apartment Guide
• HotPads
• Pad Mapper
• Renters Warehouse
• Trulia
• Zillow
• Zumper
• Facebook: groups like Denver Housing and Subletting; Denver Area Creative Housing; and Denver Collective Housing Network
  

Sublet in the University neighborhoods. With four universities in Denver, there are many opportunities to sublet from students who have left for the summer. This is especially true around the University of Denver which has great access to the Light Rail. Facebook has subletting groups like University of Denver (DU) Housing, Sublets, & Roommates.

You will likely find a better deal on housing if you move to the area first and search for housing while you are here. It is much easier to find housing by walking around, driving through neighborhoods, and talking to people than trying to find a place remotely.

Consider House Sitting to have free (and sometimes paid) places to stay while you begin your housing search. Check out Trusted House Sitters; Luxury House Sitting; and Care.com to see if this is a good fit for you.

DPS is excited to share a down payment assistance opportunity, made possible thanks to a partnership with Landed - a San Francisco-based startup that helps essential professionals buy homes; and Ben and Lucy Ana Walton of Zoma Foundation, who have generously provided a $5 million philanthropic investment to help educators in Denver purchase homes. These organizations know Denver has become a challenging place to purchase a home, and they want to support DPS team members in buying a home in the community they serve. As of May 2019, Landed has held over 500 conversations with DPS educators, and 20 DPS educators have purchased a home with Landed. Read about Landed's First Year in Colorado.

How It Works

• The opportunity provides half of the 20% down payment on a home, up to $70,000 per household, to be paid back in the future. The assistance is available to all full-time employees who have worked in public education for at least two years, anywhere in the country. Participants do not have to be first-time home buyers to take advantage of this opportunity, and there are not any explicit restrictions on the home purchase location. Purchased homes must be used as a primary residence.

• Landed is a co-investment and not a loan or grant. When the homebuyer refinances or sells the home to end their partnership, Landed is paid back the original down payment funding plus 25% of any gain in the home’s value. If the home is sold and has lost value, then Landed shares in that loss as well, just like any true co-investment partner. View this step-by-step guide to learn more about how Landed works.

Questions? Landed has numerous resources available on their blog and website. Feel free to reach out to Landed at hi@landed.com for more information.

Habitat for Humanity of Metro Denver's homeownership program empowers working families to build and buy their own homes. With Denver's housing costs reaching record highs in recent years, becoming a first-time homeowner in our city has become increasingly hard. Habitat's homeownership program provides a hand-up to families so that they can get their foot in the door to purchase a home in metro Denver. 

Some qualifications do apply.

View this flyer for program information or visit their website for qualifications and more information on available programs. You can also search for current homes for sale through Habitat at www.habitatmetrodenver.org/homes-for-sale/. 

In September 2020, Zumper reported the median rent amount for a 1-bedroom apartment in the Denver Metro area as $1,234. View the full report here.

Denver’s neighborhoods boast diverse demographics and various lifestyle factors! Use these links to learn more about our neighborhoods! 

• Interactive map - demographic information, from The Piton Foundation
• 5280 Magazine’s 25 Best Neighborhoods (based on a livability tool developed by 5280)

Rank	Name (contains links)	Walk Score	Transit Score	Bike Score	Pop.
1	Downtown	93	89	94	15,382
2	Capitol Hill	93	66	96	14,685
3	Five Points	90	73	97	12,709
4	Baker	86	60	87	4,875
5	Cheesman Park	85	53	90	7,984
6	Jefferson Park	85	56	80	2,526
7	Highland	85	60	88	8,434
8	Lincoln Park	85	76	94	6,117
9	Speer	85	55	95	10,957
10	City Park West	85	55	95	4,854
11	Platt Park	82	61	82	5,392
12	Cole	82	54	92	4,646
13	Berkeley	82	39	70	8,115
14	City Park	81	54	83	2,894
15	Whittier	81	53	95	4,832
16	Cherry Creek	80	49	79	5,583
17	Congress Park	80	51	88	10,239
18	West Highland	79	41	74	8,535
19	Country Club	77	46	86	3,003
20	Sunnyside	76	43	80	9,711
21	Valverde	75	45	69	3,951
22	Barnum	74	44	76	6,045
23	Washington Park West	73	62	88	6,378
24	Hale	71	48	77	6,942
25	Athmar Park	69	48	62	8,897
26	Clayton	69	48	79	4,360
27	West Colfax	69	59	84	9,742
28	Sun Valley	68	64	85	1,463
29	Washington Virginia Vale	67	44	77	12,838
30	Rosedale	67	53	73	2,549
31	Westwood	65	42	67	15,484
32	Sloan Lake	65	43	78	7,263
33	University Park	65	48	80	7,491
34	Montclair	64	47	71	5,463
35	East Colfax	64	52	74	10,167
36	Belcaro	64	42	84	4,215
37	Ruby Hill	64	42	67	9,826
38	Virginia Village	63	44	74	12,567
39	Cory-Merrill	63	45	76	3,896
40	University	63	44	78	9,372
41	Goldsmith	62	49	72	6,886
42	University Hills	62	53	72	5,583
43	Barnum West	61	39	69	5,435
44	Chaffee Park	61	38	61	3,882
45	Overland	60	64	75	2,205
46	Park Hill	60	47	80	25,806
47	Skyland	60	47	87	3,085
48	Mar Lee	60	42	68	12,446
49	College View	59	44	65	6,200
50	Washington Park	59	43	79	6,915
51	Elyria Swansea	56	43	67	6,399
52	Kennedy	55	56	69	4,380
53	Hampden	55	43	71	18,535
54	Villa Park	55	51	72	8,755
55	Hilltop	55	43	68	8,088
56	Lowry Field	52	39	72	8,155
57	Auraria	51	81	81	705
58	Regis	50	37	57	3,944
59	Globeville	50	38	71	3,674
60	Stapleton	47	44	66	14,374
61	Wellshire	46	35	69	2,885
62	Hampden South	46	52	67	15,459
63	Harvey Park	42	42	59	11,275
64	Montbello	41	39	50	30,374
65	Windsor	40	39	63	12,936
66	Southmoor Park	37	57	61	3,839
67	Harvey Park South	36	38	56	7,785
68	Gateway	35	38	54	6,935
69	Marston	34	31	41	12,960
70	Bear Valley	33	38	52	9,926
71	Indian Creek	29	38	64	3,261
72	Fort Logan	24	29	44	9,211
73	Green Valley Ranch	20	34	50	22,092
74	Denver International Airport	19	30	49	1,166

Source: https://www.walkscore.com/CO/Denver. Last update: 2020

The Teacher Loan Forgiveness Program allows full time teachers who have taught for a minimum of five complete and consecutive academic years in a low-income school or educational service agency (as well as other qualifications) to be eligible for forgiveness of up to a combined total of $17,500 on your Direct Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans, as well as your Subsidized and Federal Stafford Loans. 

If you have a Direct Consolidation Loan or a Federal Consolidation Loan, you may be eligible for forgiveness of the outstanding portion of the consolidation loan that repaid an eligible Direct Subsidized Loan, Direct Unsubsidized Loan, Subsidized Federal Stafford Loan, or Unsubsidized Federal Stafford Loan. 

For more information, please visit www.studentaid.ed.gov/sa/repay-loans/forgiveness-cancellation/teacher. 

Teacher Cancellation of Perkins Loans: under this program, if you are a teacher in public or nonprofit elementary or secondary school system serving students from low-income families, are a special education teacher, or teach in the field of mathematics, science, foreign language, or bilingual education (or any other field with a shortage), you may qualify for up to 100% cancellation of your Federal Perkins Loan over five years. You also qualify for loan deferment, and if you are interested in applying for this you would need to speak with the university that holds your loan information. 

Almost all of DPS Schools qualify for these programs. 
For more information, please visit: www.studentaid.ed.gov/sa/repay-loans/forgiveness-cancellation/perkins.

• Teachers and SSPs may be eligible for student loan and tuition reimbursement, up to $1,000 per
• school year and $6,000 total lifetime. For tuition reimbursement, eligible expenses include only
• professional development related to the assignment(s) for which you are or could become qualified. For more information and to apply, visit The Commons.

• DPS offers tuition credits through the Denver Preschool Program, Colorado Preschool Program, and other funding sources. Your child’s tuition rate depends on your household size and income. Families are automatically considered for tuition credits when they fill out the application and supply all the correct documentation. Students who are 4 years old or in their last year before kindergarten are eligible for tuition credits. Students are only eligible for one year of tuition credit.
• Requirements for tuition reductions:
  • They are Denver residents. Non-Denver residents must pay full tuition.
  • Parents fill out the preschool application and all required documentation.

For additional information, please visit: http://www.dpp.org/sign-up-for-tuition-support and https://earlyeducation.dpsk12.org/.

Half day kindergarten is free for all Colorado students. Parents are responsible for securing care for the other half of the day.

DPS’ Department of Extended learning and Community Schools oversees many after-school programs in the district. Our programs provide DPS students a safe, enriching place to continue their studies, explore new skills and make friends during out-of-school time.

The Colorado Drug Card is a free prescription assistance program available to everyone living in Colorado. The program provides discounts on both brand and generic medication with an average savings around 30%, with some discounts as high as 75%. The card is accepted at Walgreens, Safeway, Albertsons, Target, CVS, Walmart, as well as over 56,000 participating pharmacies around the country. To learn more, please visit: http://www.coloradodrugcard.com/index.php

Teachers save $10 on an individual membership - good for free admission for one year. The teacher discount is only available when a valid teacher ID is shown at the museum welcome desk and cannot be ordered online or over the phone.

STEM teachers are invited to enjoy a free 20-minute flight at our Air and Space Museum, most likely in the vintage 1940s Stearman biplane. Sign up or watch teacher flights here: http://wingsmuseum.org/education-4/teacherflight/. 

Teachers can purchase $10 tickets the day of a concert, in person, at the Colorado SymphonyBox Office. For those who are eager to get their seats ahead of time, $12 advance tickets can be purchased online with the promo code LISTEN and then picked up with a valid I.D. All concerts are subject to availability and a limited number of discount tickets are available per performance. For more details, please visit: https://coloradosymphony.org/Tickets/Students-Teachers. 

The National Park Service Teacher Ranger Teacher (TRT) program is an extended professional development opportunity for educators from K-12 schools to learn about the resources and educational materials available through the National Park Service. Teachers participating in the TRT program will have the opportunity to engage in parks and park resources, participate in a webinar about lesson planning, develop at least one lesson to be used in their classroom or school, assist the park with an education project, and increase their understanding of place-based learning. This program links National Park units and teachers from schools with underserved student populations. Teachers spend the summer learning, and sometimes also living in the park. When TRTs return to school in the fall, they spend part of their classroom time presenting their TRT projects to their own students and to a wider education audience. Teachers receive a stipend at the end of the summer (after Oct 1) and upon successful completion of both the NPS project and the online course with CU Denver. Parks do their recruiting for the program in the early spring (March-April). To learn more or apply, please visit: http://teacherrangerteacher.org/.