Meet Cheryl
She Found Her Calling in 2004. Forty-Four Redevelopments Later, It Hasn't Changed.
Cheryl Firby is the managing broker and owner of Alpine Realty. She is a developer, an investor, an educator, and one of the most experienced hands-on real estate practitioners in the Boulder market. Her clients come to her because she has done the work herself — forty-four times over — and knows exactly how to help them do it too.
How She Found Her Calling
In 2004, She Bought Her First Property With a Plan to Transform It.
In 2004, Cheryl Firby purchased her first property in Boulder with a specific intention: to redevelop it. She had been drawn to real estate for years through a love of interior design and the process of improving spaces — the idea that something neglected or underperforming could be taken apart and rebuilt into something functional, beautiful, and genuinely worth living in.
That first property confirmed what she suspected. “I knew at that point I had found my calling.”
She obtained her license in 2005. Her first marketing campaign involved three hundred mini pumpkins from Munson's Farm, dropped by hand onto front porches throughout the Newlands neighborhood. The one listing she secured from it — on Sixth and Evergreen — received ten offers and sold two hundred thousand dollars over asking.
She learned quickly that Boulder real estate moves fast. She decided she was built for it.
Who She Is
From Detroit to Boulder. From IBM to Real Estate. A Decision That Changed Everything.
Cheryl came to Boulder in 1997 from the Detroit area, drawn by the mountains and by CU. She had raced competitively her entire life, and Colorado was the only place that made sense. From the moment she arrived, Boulder felt like home. That feeling has never left.
She graduated from CU with two degrees: a BS in Business/Information Systems and a BA in Environmental Studies, with a minor in Geography. She interned at IBM's Printing Systems Division while in business school, and IBM hired her when she finished. She worked there for a few years, acquired an analytical discipline she has drawn on ever since, and then made a decision she describes simply: she shifted course and pursued an entirely different vocation. “That decision would forever change my life's trajectory.”
What brought her to real estate was not one thing but several arriving at once: a long-standing interest in interior design and renovating spaces, a local developer and agent in Boulder who became an influential mentor, and Robert Kiyosaki's Rich Dad Poor Dad — a book that gave her a framework for building wealth through hard assets that she not only adopted for herself, but has since used to educate hundreds of clients. She has been in this market for more than two decades. She cannot imagine being anywhere else.
Her Approach
She Teaches. She Advises. She Advocates.
For Investors
She brings the perspective of someone who has structured forty-four deals, evaluated hundreds of income properties, and developed a precise fluency in the variables that actually determine whether an investment performs. Cash flow potential, ARV, renovation cost assessment, deal structure, private lending — she understands all of it from the inside.
For First-Time Buyers
Cheryl genuinely enjoys working with first-time buyers — educating them on the process, helping them understand what they are doing and why, and making sure they leave the transaction with a foundation for thinking about real estate as a tool rather than just a purchase. This is part of a larger passion for financial education that runs through everything she does.
For Primary Residence Buyers & Sellers
Every purchase she advises on carries an investment lens — appreciation potential, income opportunity, and long-term positioning that most agents simply don't offer. Her work spans the Boulder market and Denver metro broadly, with transaction experience ranging from the mid-range to $2.4 million and above.
What Clients Say
5.0 — Every Review. Every Year.
“Working with Cheryl Firby was an absolute pleasure from start to finish. She is, without a doubt, the best real estate agent we've had the opportunity to work with.”
“Cheryl brings a sharp mind and calm presence to navigating potentially challenging choice points and conversations — which allowed me to listen more deeply to myself.”
Who She Is Outside the Office
Ask Her What She Cares About Most. The Conversation Moves Quickly to Animals.
She has rescued dogs for years — senior dogs in particular, the ones most people overlook. A few years ago she adopted Margie, a twelve-year-old border collie, and had her for two years. She is certain those were the best years of Margie's life, and that knowledge sits with her as something genuinely happy.
She has volunteered at Greenwood Rehabilitation Center and Longmont Humane Society. Her lifelong goal is to run an animal rescue of her own — preliminary plans already in place.
She talks about animals the way she talks about her clients: with total seriousness, and obvious care.
Start Here
The First Conversation Is Worth Having Early
Whether you are buying your first property, looking for your next investment, or getting ready to sell — talking to Cheryl before you make decisions is a worthwhile use of your time. She is direct, honest about what the market will and won't support, and brings more than two decades of real, hands-on experience to every answer she gives.
She takes on a limited number of clients at a time. If you are thinking about Boulder — or anywhere in the Denver metro — this is a good place to begin.
Cheryl Firby
Managing Broker & Owner, Alpine Realty
- Boulder resident since
- 1997
- Licensed
- 2005 — 21 years in Colorado real estate
- Education
- BS, Business/Information Systems — CU Boulder BA, Environmental Studies — CU Boulder
- Redevelopments
- 44 homes and multifamily buildings (2008–2023)
- Transactions closed
- 212+
- Average sale price
- ~$1M
- Rating
- 5.0 — 20 reviews
- Association
- BOLO Realtors (Boulder Longmont Realtor Association)
Service Area
Boulder · Denver Metro · Louisville · Lafayette · Niwot · Longmont and surrounding communities