Buying Your First Denver Home

You've made a big decision in your life - you have decided to make a move and buy your first home.  You know interests rates are great, some areas of Denver have some wonderful buying opportunities and you are ready to go.

But where do you start?  

I would suggest an important early step is to select your Denver REALTOR® and your mortgage broker and get pre-approved for your loan.

Getting pre-approved is very important for many reasons, especially for a first time home buyer.

First, the more obvious - you will know where you stand.  Even if your home purchase is still a few months out, this is very important because you will know exactly what you can afford to buy.  If you are like the majority of home buyers these days , your search for a Denver area home begins on the Internet in the early stages.  But if you do not know what you can afford, it will be easy for you to be searching in the wrong price range. 

Time and time again I see home buyers begin their home search a bit higher than they should and they start to fall in love with the features, qualities, and neighborhoods of a higher price range than they should be in.  I have to tell you - it is very hard for many to then search in the right price range.  You will think, but i really want that 3rd bathroom, or , I really am looking for that larger backyard with mature trees.  But unfortunately these things you have now seen & fall in love with may not be available in your REAL price range.  It will be a much more of a fulfilling experience if you know where you stand up front and your excitement and emotion will carry through in the home searching process.

Secondly, When you are pre-approved for your loan, you hold an advantage when you are starting to look at homes.  When you are ready to make an offer on a home, you will need to include you pre-approval letter with the offer.  This lets the seller know that not only you are serious, but you are ready to buy.  In fact, most sellers will require this pre-approval letter with your offer.  Do not fall under the assumption that you can get pre-approved as you find the home that you want to make an offer on. 

Contrary to popular belief, the best of the best homes in the Denver area still can sell quickly, and there is a good chance that if you are not ready you could miss out.  And a side note, not all mortgage brokers and pre-approval letters carry the same weight.  It these tumultuous times of mortgage companies folding, the informed seller and their agent is going to take into serious consideration what mortgage broker you are using.  They are not going to necessarily want to work with someone whose loan could fall apart at the closing table.  In fact, in many cases the seller may require you to speak with their lender just to ensure themselves that you have the ability to get a loan. You'll find this may often be the case with short sale and bank owned properties.  

And pre-approval letters aren't what they used to be also.  With news being made daily in the mortgage world, these letters are merely a starting point and the selling agent is going to feel better about working with a reputable local mortgage broker that will be able to act fast with clear communication if needed.  If you need names of great, local mortgage brokers with great reputations, I can help you with that.  

Read also: Buyer's Agent in Colorado: Do You Really Need One

Denver, Colorado & The South Metro Suburbs - Relocation Package 

Why You Should Use The Loan Officer Your REALTOR® Recommends  



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Steve Scheer, RE/MAX Masters, Inc.
Denver Real Estate

You can read more about local activities and local real estate on Real Estate in Denver and the Suburbs.