Affordable Homes in Fort Collins: Where the Cheap Condos and Townhomes Are, What They Cost a Month, and How to Buy One for About $1,000

The short answer

Where are the cheapest homes in Fort Collins?

Fort Collins has no cheap houses left inside the city: under $400,000 means a condo or townhome, and the pockets follow the 1970s to 1990s complexes along College Avenue in Midtown, the west side between CSU and the foothills, and the older buildings around Old Town. A detached house under $400,000 is a manufactured home in a park or a rare fixer.

• 80525, Midtown and Foothills: 58 homes under $400,000 this week, median $315,000, from $35,000; nearly all condos and townhomes (100 percent carry an HOA), 22 percent with three bedrooms or more, about 1,033 square feet at the median. The biggest pocket: 1980s and 1990s condos along College and Horsetooth near the Foothills mall and the MAX bus line, two-bedroom units from the $200,000s, dues $250 to $450, and a 55-plus complex or two in the mix.
• 80526, west Fort Collins by Rolland Moore: 45 homes under $400,000 this week, median $305,000, from $189,000; nearly all condos and townhomes (93 percent carry an HOA), 24 percent with three bedrooms or more, about 1,008 square feet at the median. Condos and townhomes between CSU and the foothills, Rolland Moore Park and Spring Creek Trail at the door, 1970s to 1990s, dues $300 to $450; the student-rental competition is real here, so owner-occupant buyers win on terms.
• 80521, the CSU west side: 26 homes under $400,000 this week, median $330,000, from $229,900; nearly all condos and townhomes (81 percent carry an HOA), 31 percent with three bedrooms or more, about 1,075 square feet at the median. Older condos and a few small townhomes west of campus and along Mulberry, 1960s to 1980s, the closest you get to Old Town under $400,000, and the most investor competition.
• 80524, Old Town and Mountain View: 25 homes under $400,000 this week, median $330,000, from $89,999; nearly all condos and townhomes (80 percent carry an HOA), 40 percent with three bedrooms or more, about 1,248 square feet at the median. A mix: 1970s condos north of Old Town, the manufactured-home parks along North College that set the floor near $90,000, and the occasional small house north of the river.
• 80528, Fossil Creek and the southeast: 14 homes under $400,000 this week, median $350,000, from $215,000; nearly all condos and townhomes (100 percent carry an HOA), 36 percent with three bedrooms or more, about 1,200 square feet at the median. The newest pocket: 2000s and 2010s townhomes near Fossil Creek Park and Harmony Road, $300,000 to $400,000, two-car garages, metro districts on some.

What does $250,000, $320,000 and $400,000 buy in Fort Collins?

What does an affordable Fort Collins home cost a month?

A Fort Collins condo payment is the loan plus the dues plus Larimer County taxes, and the dues are the line that moves: $250 in a 1990s townhome, $450 in a 1970s complex with a pool and water included. Compare what the HOA covers before you compare prices.

Fossil Creek townhomes with a metro district add $100 to $200 a month on the tax line beyond what the table shows; the city pages flag which complexes carry one. Run your own numbers on can I afford a home now.

Which programs cut the cash, and what is the catch?

How many bedrooms do cheap Fort Collins homes have?

Two bedrooms is the Fort Collins affordable home. Three bedrooms under $400,000 means a Fossil Creek or south Midtown townhome, about 43 of them this week, and a detached three-bedroom under $400,000 inside the city is a manufactured home in a park. The bedroom-count pages: 1-bedroom, 2-bedroom, 3-bedroom, 4-bedroom Fort Collins homes.

What to check before you buy a cheap home in Fort Collins

• Owner-occupancy ratio of the complex. Near CSU many complexes are over half rented, which fails FHA approval and shrinks your resale pool; ask the HOA for the ratio before you write.
• The HOA budget and reserves. Two years of financials and the reserve study; the 1970s pool complexes in Midtown have had $5,000 to $15,000 special assessments for roofs and asphalt.
• What the dues include. Water, sewer, trash and sometimes heat in the older buildings; nothing but the exterior in the newer townhomes. A $450 HOA that covers $120 of utilities is a $330 HOA.
• Metro districts in Fossil Creek and the southeast. A district levy of $100 to $200 a month on top of the HOA in the 2000s townhome communities.
• Manufactured homes on North College. The $90,000 to $150,000 listings are homes in parks on leased land: chattel loan, lot rent of $700 to $1,000, no land.
• Poudre River flood zones. Low ground north of Old Town along the river sits in the flood zone; check the map before you fall for a price north of Vine.
• Parking. One deeded space is normal in the older complexes; a second car parks on the street near campus. Read the guide to Fort Collins HOA rules and fees.

The 60-day plan to buy an affordable home in Fort Collins

1. Day 1: call or text 303-955-4220. We set up the under-$400,000 search with the HOA shown on every tile and send the lender introduction the same day.
2. Days 1 to 7: pre-approval with CHFA or the city loan priced side by side with plain FHA; the two-hour homebuyer class online. Mortgage pre-approval.
3. Days 7 to 30: tour the pockets above, two or three a day, with the HOA financials pulled before each showing.
4. Days 30 to 35: the offer, written with seller-paid closing costs and the earnest money sized to come back to you.
5. Days 35 to 60: inspection, appraisal, condo questionnaire, clear to close. You bring about $1,000.

Quick answers

Where are the cheapest homes in Fort Collins?

Midtown and Foothills (80525) for the most two-bedroom condos under $300,000, the west side by Rolland Moore (80526) and the CSU west side (80521) next. Those three ZIPs hold three quarters of Fort Collins' 168 homes under $400,000. All of them are on affordable homes for sale in Fort Collins.

Can I buy a house in Fort Collins for under $400,000?

Not a detached one, as a rule: 168 homes are under $400,000 this week and 92 percent carry an HOA, which means condos and townhomes. The detached exceptions are manufactured homes in parks on North College and the occasional fixer north of the river. For a house with a yard at this price, look at Loveland, Greeley or Evans.

How much is the payment on a $320,000 Fort Collins townhome?

About $2,821 a month with an FHA loan at 7 percent and 3.5 percent down, including the $371 HOA, Larimer taxes, insurance and mortgage insurance; a lender approves that at about $113,000 a year of income.

What is the City of Fort Collins Home Buyer Assistance program?

A zero-interest deferred loan from the city toward down payment and closing costs for households under 80 percent of area median income buying inside Fort Collins. It stacks on top of CHFA or a plain FHA loan and is repaid when you sell or refinance. The Larimer Home Ownership Program is the county version with the same income band.

Is $300,000 enough in Fort Collins?

For a condo, yes: 65 homes are listed under $300,000 this week, nearly all one- and two-bedroom condos of 800 to 1,000 square feet in Midtown and the west side with dues of $250 to $450. Townhomes with a garage start in the low $300,000s.

Why does FHA approval matter so much here?

Because every assistance program (CHFA, the city loan, the county loan) rides on an FHA or conventional first mortgage, and FHA will not lend in a condo project that is off its approved list or more than half rented. Near CSU that rules out a third of the complexes for FHA buyers; a conventional loan with 3 percent down still works in them, without the grant.

Should I rent to own in Fort Collins?

Only when no loan works today. A lease-option on a $320,000 townhome takes about $9,600 up front plus a rent premium with no title until the end; CHFA or the city loan puts a 620-score buyer on title now for about $1,000. Fort Collins rent-to-own homes.

Keep going

Every Fort Collins home under $400,000, updated daily · Affordable homes across Colorado · The Denver affordable homes guide · $1,000 cash to close · CHFA assistance · Fort Collins starter homes · Fort Collins condos · Fort Collins townhomes · Fort Collins HUD homes · Fort Collins rent-to-own · Credit care · All Fort Collins homes. Nearby: Loveland, Greeley, Evans, Longmont.