Chris & Erin Ratay

Starter homes and mid-century ranches. You either love them, or you don't. Martin Acres and the surrounding neighborhoods are fairly similar... Mostly brick ranches built in the late 50s to late 60s, about 1,000-1300sf, and about half have basements. The typical layout is 3 beds, 1 bath, and 1 car garage. Finished basements usually include 2 more bedrooms, a 3/4 bath, family room, and storage. The larger models were often built with an additional 1/2 bath off the master. Bedrooms are small and ceilings are low. If you want affordable new construction in Boulder, you'll need to double your budget or drive about 5-miles away.

Why buy a starter home? They are usually more affordable, and their is typically a long line of first-time buyers ready to take over when you decide to move on. Boulder doesn't have a lot of starter-home options, so limited inventory and larger demand is good for resale.

And here's the good news -- they are being updated, and they can look great! Converting a 3 bed into a 2 bed is pretty typical -- for many buyers looking to move up from a condo, 2 bedrooms is often enough. Those with basements can double their living space. Ceilings can be popped into the attic space and insulated skylights can be added economically. Many homeowners who don't want to move add "pop-tops" and add a second story. You want hardwoods? They have hardwoods -- real ones! Also, most homes have forced air heat, so A/C can be added fairly easily if that's important to you.

Value -- From 2005, ranches could be purchased for $250K. Now in 2013 they start at $350K, and it's closer to $400K if it's been updated, and prices seem to be rising.
There are some bi-level and tri-level homes, in the 1320sf-1800sf range, similarly priced but representing a smaller percentage of homes.

Location, location, LOCATION -- homes are about 2 miles from CU, so they tend to draw the grad students, faculty, and staff. The neighborhood is congested with rentals, but they tend not to be the partying type. There are lots of elementary/middle school aged kids, and the nearby schools are really good.

All-in-all, good value and good opportunity.

Conveniently located south of Baseline, north/east of 36, this older neighborhood of south Boulder is extremely convenient to Downtown Boulder, Louisville, Superior, Denver, and those commuting to DIA while wanting to live in Boulder. The RTD has a major hub at the Table Mesa Park-n-Ride, with easy access to DIA, downtown Denver which is great for sporting events and "nights on the town in Denver".

The Meadows Shopping Center has a large and modern Safeway, several lunch options, a bank and credit union, and is home to Glacier Ice Cream, one of the best options in town. For a night out in a nicer restaurant or pub, you can drive less then 2 miles down to Carelli's or the Dark Horse on Baseline, or over to the Table Mesa shopping center for the Southern Sun and Murphy's South. There is always a crowd at the Southside Walnut on Sundays.

Horizon's K-8 just completed a major renovation, and it was a top-ranked charter school before. We have friends who live in north Boulder and open-enroll their daughter to Horizons. Eisenhower Elementary and Manhattan Middle schools are on the east side of Foothills, and parents strive to live close to these.

There are many nearby trails, both paved and dirt, and the East Boulder Rec Center is just off South Boulder Rd at 55th.

Kaiser has a modern clinic here and there is also a good-sized library.

Housing: Condos start in the $160's and houses can get to over $1MM. The homes tend to be on larger lots surrounded by mature trees. There is opportunity in homes that require updating, while equity can easily be obtained with nominal effort.

Frasier Meadows is great for families and DINKS, while singles looking for more "action" may prefer other parts of town.

Bordered by Highway 36 and Foothills Parkway, some homes can be a bit noisy, but typically a block of other homes/trees is enough to buffer the sound.

If you do a lot of activities in Boulder County, there are few locations that are more centrally located.