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Buyer guide
The programs, the down payments, and the honest fine print, written for people buying their first place in Colorado.
Buying your first home in Colorado is very doable, and it rarely looks the way people expect. Most first-time buyers put down between three and five percent, not twenty, and several state and local programs exist specifically to help with the cash to close.
This guide walks through the loans and assistance programs we use for first-time buyers every week, who qualifies for each, and what to do first.
Most programs define a first-time buyer as someone who has not owned a home in the last three years, so you can qualify again even if you owned a place years ago. Some programs add exceptions for veterans or for buyers looking in targeted areas.
If you are unsure whether you count, ask us. The answer changes which programs are worth pricing, not whether you can buy.
Conventional loans allow as little as three percent down for first-time buyers. FHA allows three and a half percent down and is more forgiving on credit and debt ratios. VA loans, for eligible service members and veterans, allow zero down with no monthly mortgage insurance.
These loans are the foundation. Assistance programs and seller credits stack on top of them, which is how buyers end up closing with a fraction of the cash they assumed they needed.
The Colorado Housing and Finance Authority, usually called CHFA, offers first mortgage programs paired with down payment assistance, typically structured as a small second loan that sits behind your first mortgage. Borrower education is part of the deal, usually a short homebuyer class, and income and purchase price limits apply.
Those limits change each year and vary by county, so the right question is not whether CHFA exists but whether your income and target price fit this year's numbers. We check that for you.
Several metro-area programs offer down payment help administered through participating lenders, some of it forgivable over time if you stay in the home. Cities and counties run their own versions, and employer or union programs show up from time to time as well.
Because we work with more than 70 wholesale mortgage banks, we can match you with lenders that offer the assistance programs you qualify for rather than the one menu a single bank carries. The directory below names the Colorado programs we see used most often.
In a balanced market, asking the seller to contribute toward your closing costs is a normal part of the offer, not a long shot. On the right property, a seller credit can cover a meaningful share of what you would otherwise bring to the closing table.
Your real estate agent negotiates the credit. We tell you exactly how much to ask for based on your actual cost to close.
Get pre-approved before you tour homes. It takes income documents, asset statements, and a credit check, and it tells you what payment feels comfortable before emotions get involved. Most pre-approvals come together in a day or two.
Then we price your options side by side: with assistance, without it, and across loan types, with real numbers.
Here are the programs Colorado first-time buyers ask us about most, what each one does, and where it applies. Program funds, income limits, purchase price caps, and eligibility rules are set by each agency and change during the year, so treat this as a map rather than a quote. We confirm current terms for your situation before you commit to anything.
Statewide
CHFA is the state housing finance agency and the starting point for most first-time buyers. It pairs a first mortgage with down payment and closing cost assistance, offered either as a grant or as a second mortgage, through participating lenders.
Expect a homebuyer education class, an income limit that varies by county and household size, and a purchase price cap. Both figures are updated periodically, so the right question is whether your numbers fit the current ones.
Denver metro area
metroDPA provides down payment and closing cost assistance to buyers purchasing in participating metro-area cities and counties. Assistance is calculated as a percentage of the loan amount and delivered through approved lenders.
You do not have to be a first-time buyer for every version of it, and income limits are set generously enough that many working households qualify. Occupancy of the home as your primary residence is required.
City and County of Denver
Denver runs assistance for buyers purchasing inside city limits, aimed at households that can carry a mortgage payment but have not been able to save the cash to close on a Denver price.
Terms depend on the funding cycle and the option you choose, so this is one to verify before you write an offer on a Denver home.
City of Aurora
Aurora's Home Ownership Assistance Program helps income qualified buyers purchasing in Aurora with a deferred loan toward the down payment and closing costs.
Because it is city funded, the money is limited and the rules are specific about the property location and household income. Ask early if Aurora is on your list.
Douglas County
DCHP administers down payment assistance for buyers purchasing in Douglas County communities such as Castle Rock, Parker, Highlands Ranch, and Lone Tree.
It pairs with standard first mortgages through approved lenders and is worth pricing any time your search sits south of the metro.
Statewide nonprofit
CHAC is a nonprofit that makes low interest second mortgages for down payment and closing costs to low and moderate income Colorado buyers.
It is often the answer for buyers who fall slightly outside another program's box, and it can layer with a conventional or FHA first mortgage.
Denver and surrounding neighborhoods
Del Norte Neighborhood Development Corporation is a longstanding Denver nonprofit offering homebuyer counseling and assistance for income qualified buyers, with deep roots in northwest Denver.
Their counseling side is genuinely useful even before you are ready to buy, and we coordinate with their assistance when it fits your file.
Statewide, issued through housing agencies
An MCC is not cash at closing. It is a federal tax credit that returns a portion of the mortgage interest you pay each year for as long as you keep the loan and live in the home.
Because the credit is ongoing, an MCC can improve both your annual tax picture and, in some cases, the income used to qualify. There are income and purchase price limits, and it must be issued at the time of your loan, not afterward.
El Paso County and Colorado Springs
The El Paso County Turnkey Plus program pairs a first mortgage with down payment assistance for buyers in El Paso County, including Colorado Springs.
It works for conventional, FHA, and VA first mortgages with participating lenders, which makes it a strong fit for military families buying near Fort Carson, Peterson, and Schriever.
National program available in Colorado
Chenoa Fund is a nationally available down payment assistance program run by a government chartered entity, structured as a second mortgage behind an FHA or conventional first.
Depending on the option and your income, the second is either repayable or forgivable after a set period of on time payments. It is a good backstop when local funds have run dry for the year.
Adams County
Adams County offers down payment and closing cost help for income qualified buyers purchasing in the county, covering communities such as Thornton, Westminster, Northglenn, Brighton, and Commerce City.
Funding cycles matter here, so if Adams County is your target area, let us check availability before you are under contract.
Program availability, funding, income limits, and purchase price caps are set by each agency and can change at any time. Nothing here is a commitment to lend or an offer of a specific program, and eligibility is determined by the program administrator and the lender. Call or text us and we will check what is currently open for your income, credit, and target neighborhood.
Call or text 720-386-4071, or start the application and we will follow up the same day. The conversation is free, and the math is yours to keep.
