3 Mistakes to Avoid Buying a Home in Denver CO with Nathan Duffy | DT Properties in Littleton, CO

Here are the top three mistakes to avoid when buying a home in Denver Colorado in 2022.

Over Estimating Down Payment 

One of the biggest mental walls I have to walk new buyers through is thinking they need to put 20% down on their home. Typically, you can put as little as 3-5% down on a property, sometimes zero if you qualify for 0% down. You're going to need to acquire a VA loan, which would be for veterans or active military. Another one would be a USDA loan, which applies to some rural areas in the state.

There are other niche programs that you can apply for that could get you to that 0% as well, with the 3-5 that we typically see. You're going to be using a program through Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac called Home Possible or HomeReady.

Buy With Guidance 

This is by far one of the most important things that buyers typically miss before buying a home. You want to have identified and interviewed agents that are going to be specific to you; they know the area, they have your goals in mind, and even better - you want to look for an agent on a team. A team that has different expertise in different areas. The process just goes much smoother, and you're taken care of throughout every step of the process.

Another member of your team that's very important is going to be a lender. A lender that you know that is going to cater to every need that you have. There are typically two types of lenders that you can have - one that's going to be more of a smaller broker they're working by themselves. They give you concierge service, they're always on the phone. It's so key to have someone that's always available for your questions.

You could use a bigger bank, but what happens with a bigger institution is that you may not be able to access them when you need them, as they have a bunch of other clients involved.

So those are going to be two really important people to keep on your team to keep in mind before you go to buy a home.

Real Estate Is An Investment

Get yourself an agent that understands the investment side of things. This is something that the typical home buyer usually doesn't understand, or is able to articulate quite as well. A way of understanding this better is to get an investment-friendly agent that has rentals of their own.

You want someone that knows the tax breaks, the tax incentives, that you can get for owning a home. Sometimes, you think you're going to be in your home for 10 years, and you've got to really settle down when you buy. But that's not always the case; sometimes you can just buy and take advantage of the appreciation in a certain market.

I'll give you one more bonus one at the end here.

One other mistake that a client could make is paying on the buying side when you're looking to purchase a home. That is not the case when you're using a realtor, when you're only buying, it's completely free to you as the client. The seller pays the full commission on the buy and listing side, and you're just able to take advantage of their expertise, their knowledge - for free. I would love to help you out with your home needs.

- Nathan Duffy