Buyer Representation
Buying a Home in Denver, CO
Buying a home in Denver starts before the searching does: financing, a written buyer agreement, and a clear picture of what the total cost looks like. Juan Munoz represents buyers across Denver and the north metro. Search current listings or get in touch to begin.
What the 2024 Rule Changes Mean for You
Since August 2024, an agent working through an MLS must have a written agreement with you before touring a home. That agreement has to state a specific, objective amount of compensation rather than an open ended figure, and it must say plainly that broker fees are fully negotiable and not set by law. This is a national practice change, not a local policy, and any agent telling you otherwise is behind.
Who Pays Your Agent Now
Offers of compensation can no longer be published on the MLS. A seller may still choose to offer compensation outside the MLS, and it remains negotiable in every direction. What that means in practice: you will know before you tour anything what you would owe if a seller offers nothing, and that number is agreed in writing rather than assumed.
Steps From Search to Closing
- Financing firstA lender conversation before you tour, so your range is real
- Buyer agreementSigned, with compensation stated plainly
- Search and tourFiltered to what actually fits, not everything that technically matches
- OfferPrice, dates, contingencies and earnest money as one package
- Under contractInspection, appraisal, loan and title run against a deadline table
- ClosingCommonly 30 to 45 days from acceptance with financing
The Inspection Is Where Money Is Made or Lost
An inspection report is long, and most of it is minor. What matters is separating items that are cosmetic from items that are structural, mechanical or expensive, then deciding what is worth raising. An engineering habit of reading the actual findings rather than the summary tends to pay for itself at the resolution stage.
Earnest Money and What You Actually Put Down
Earnest money is a deposit held in escrow showing you are serious, and it is credited toward your costs at closing rather than lost. It is separate from your down payment and separate again from closing costs.
Knowing all three numbers before you write an offer prevents the most common surprise in a first purchase.
Contingencies Are Your Exits
Inspection, appraisal and loan contingencies are the conditions that let you walk away and keep your earnest money if something material goes wrong. Waiving them makes an offer stronger and makes you more exposed. That balance should be a decision you make deliberately with the numbers in front of you, not something agreed in the pressure of a competitive weekend.
Neighborhoods Across the North Metro
Arvada, Westminster, Thornton, Northglenn, Commerce City, Lafayette, Louisville and Superior all trade differently, and so do the Midtown and Twin Lakes communities. Explore Denver neighborhoods or the full community guide.
Start With a Conversation
Call (720) 926-0204 or contact us. If you are also selling, read about selling a home so the two can be sequenced properly, or see the full range of residential real estate services.
