First-time buyer programs in Colorado

A first house in Colorado often comes with a question about the down payment. There are real programs that can help. Who qualifies, what kind of help is offered, and the current limits all change. Check the program’s own page, and talk with a lender, before you plan a purchase around a number you saw last year.

CHFA, the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority, is the statewide agency most buyers hear about first. It offers homebuyer education and first-mortgage programs that can include help with the down payment or closing costs. The class is worth taking early. It explains the purchase in plain terms before you are choosing a house. Start on CHFA’s site, including its down payment assistance page, not a summary in a lender’s ad.

metroDPA is a separate program, sponsored by the City and County of Denver, for down payment help on homes in participating Front Range communities. You do not have to live in Denver already to ask about it. You do have to buy where the program allows, and you have to use a participating lender. It is open to repeat buyers too, not only first-time buyers. The city’s metroDPA page is the official description. Read it for the current map and the current rules.

These are not the only options. Some cities and counties run their own help, and some employers do too. If a name is not on an official site, slow down. A lender can tell you whether you qualify.

A program does not replace a loan approval. A lender still has to say what you can borrow. The house still has to appraise, and it still has to pass that program’s own checks. Our buyer calculator is only an estimate from numbers you type in. It is not a loan approval. You can open it from the calculators page if you want a rough range, and then set it aside.

We also will not choose the loan for you. We can point you to CHFA and metroDPA, and then help you buy the house: the search, the offer, and the dates in the Colorado contract. Brokerage compensation is not set by law and is negotiable. How we work with buyers is on the Buy page.

Bring the program page with you when you talk to a lender, and ask whether you still qualify. Program rules change, so check the official page before you apply. We will help with the house once that part is clear. Ask what has to be true on the day you write the contract, not what was true when someone you know bought.

If you are buying for the first time in the Denver metro, say so when you call or write. We will start with what you need the house to do. You can talk with a lender about which program, if any, fits. The cities we cover are on the areas we serve page.