Homes in Fort Collins (Denver, Eaton: real estate market, house, utilities)

[MountainViews]

After a great deal of time spent in a number of towns west and north of Denver, we have decided that Fort Collins offers us the things we need for our family. I hope to learn a bit about the real estate market from any realtors on the forum board.

We are comfortable with a home investment of $200K to $300K. Our first hope is to find some land, between 2 and 10 acres, near Fort Collins with a view of the mountains, to build a home on.

Would we be able to find suitable land to build a home in that price range? Or would we have better luck looking at existing home?

I see on various websites that there is a large number of homes in the $200K to $250K range in Fort Collins. We are looking for 2,000 square feet or more, 3-4 bedrooms, 2-3 bathrooms, 2 or more car garage, single story with a basement, and a lot large enough to build an outbuilding on for an office, or one that already has such a building.

I have a pretty good idea of what it would cost to build a home of that size, except for land and utility installation costs.

Any advice or information you can provide will be greatly appreciated. We do not yet have a realtor in that area, and will be looking to relocate in the spring.

Thanks in advance.
Mountain Views

[hmtklein]

If you want mountain views you might want to focus on the Eastern side of I25 - you will be further from town and perhaps out of your price range but they get great views. Actually with the way town slopes on the South side past Harmony they get some views down there too.

[Tom Emmerling]

You are looking at paying anywhere from 50,000.00 to 100,000.00 for about 2-6 acre lots in the Fort Collins area. On top of this a lot of them do not come with water or utilities so like you mentioned you would have to factor that in also. To be honest with you I do not think that you will be able to build for the price range you are looking at. If you go out further east towards Eaton, Ault, Nunn area you could build for a little cheaper but I still do not think within the price range you are looking for and you would definately not get the views you are looking for. You could find a house already built in your price range though. You may have to look a little while for what you want but they are out there for sure. You also get a little more for your money here in areas like Wellington, Severance, Timnath rather than in Fort Collins. It may be a little easier to find a little land with a house in those areas. I hope this helps you.