1955 Bailey Mountain Cabin with National Forest Access and Three Private Lakes — $135,000

For $135,000 you get a 1955 mountain cabin in the Colorado Rockies, an hour from Denver, with access to National Forest land out the back of the neighborhood.

The cabin is 670 square feet and it shows its age in the right ways. The hardwood floors are original. So are the pine walls, the vaulted ceiling, and the brick fireplace that takes up the center of the main room. There are wagon wheel chandeliers that have been there since the beginning. Someone at some point opened up the interior walls to bring in more of the tree line, and now the forest is visible from most of the room. The .38 acres around it are thick with pines and aspens.

This is Harris Park, a neighborhood in Bailey that backs directly to National Forest. There are three private community lakes, and for $50 a year in voluntary HOA dues you get fishing access, a community center with a playground, and a calendar of neighborhood events. Highway 285 takes you into Denver in about an hour.

The cabin needs work and the listing is upfront about that. There is no well or septic on the property. The previous setup ran on water holding tanks and a composting toilet, and there was a kitchen at some point. Community well water is available through the neighborhood center. The deck has structural issues and is not currently safe to use. So this is not a plug-in-and-go situation. Recent work on the property includes a full driveway backfill and restructuring, with parking for multiple vehicles and enough room to turn around a large truck. There is also a new oversized shed that was built to store gear.

The fireplace works. The floors are intact. The bones of what someone built in 1955 are still there, inside a neighborhood with lake access and a national forest for a backyard, at a price that reflects the work it still needs.

$135,000.