350 Arapahoe Ave 23 Boulder CO 137000

350 Arapahoe Ave 23
Price: $137,000.00
Square Footage: 851
Style: 2 story condo
Financing: Cash Only
Bonus: Washer & Dryer
Bedrooms: 2
Bathrooms: 2
HOA: $350
Taxes: $768 / 2018

Location, Location, Location

350 Arapahoe Ave 23 is located on the western edge of the city of Boulder.  This is an outstanding area to live.  The street becomes one way a block down – so there is no traffic coming from Eben G. Fine park.  You’ll find neighbors strolling about the community.  The ever popular On Broadway is a few doors to the east.

Walk to Alfalfa’s Market, the Boulder public library, Pearl Street Mall.  Grab your tube and Tube to Work on the creek.  Or hop on a trail and hike. This is a one of kind location in the best part of Boulder. 

350 Arapahoe Ave 23 priced at $137,000.00

This is not a part of the permanently affordable program. There are no restrictions on equity gains nor any qualifying restrictions for home buyers.  What you see is what you get.  This home does require a cash purchase – financing is very difficult in the community due to a number of factors.

Land Lease at 350 Arapahoe Ave 23

Unique to Arapahoe West is the land lease.  The real property – the land – is separate from the town home style condo.  You’ll want to budget for the annual land lease, currently at $13,565. This is generally due in full in October. 

Understanding the lease.  Imagine you purchased a mobile home in a park.  You would own the trailer and monthly pay a lot fee to the park owner.  Here you are purchasing a condo and paying an annual lease fee to the land owner.

The lease runs through the year 2074.  It is a 99 year lease that started in 1975. It has increased over the years and can further increase based upon small annual adjustments and a reevaluation process that happens every five years (years ending in a 4 or a 9).

While the condo is a cash outlay, you do want to budget $1,131 a month towards your annual lease. Plus the home owners association fee.  Taxes are minimal; a mere $768. 

Compare & Contrast

Here’s a helpful comparison to consider.  Across the street is a Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Rocky Mountain Realtors listing in Shadow Creek.  That unit is listed for $680,000 and is also a 2 bedroom. Its a bit larger at approximately 1300 square feet. 

Let’s do the math.  A 20% down payment on $680K is (scratches head, division…) $136,000 – practically the same $137,000 needed to buy 350 Arapahoe Ave 23.   Meanwhile, you would need to finance the balance of 544,000, at say 4 and an 1/8th is a monthly payment of $2,636 for principal and interest.  It costs double to be in the same location, across the street. 

Far and away, my listing on Arapahoe is a great value. It is just different than your average set up.  Land leases are more prevalent on rural Colorado commercial property and very common (about 50% of the marketplace) in Palm Springs where Native American tribes own every other square mile of land and only offer land leases (envision a checkerboard).

BONUS FEATURES

This condo has two outstanding bonus features that most other units in this complex do not.  First, there is a 1/2 bathroom on the main floor.  This is really unique. Most condos in this complex only offer a single bathroom.  And second, there is a full size front loading washer and dryer in the condo.  Again, most of the other condominiums in the complex do not offer washer dryer hookups.  You have to take your stuff to a Laundromat. 

Also a bonus feature, a number of units in the complex do not have a true 2nd bedroom – usually it is set up like a loft. Not so here, all bedrooms are true bedrooms, separate from the living space below.

350 Arapahoe Avenue # 23 Photo Blog