What a First Purchase Costs in Denver

Most first-time buyers arrive with one number in mind, and it is usually twenty percent. That figure comes from a lending era that ended decades ago, and holding onto it keeps people renting for years longer than they need to.

The Down Payment

Conventional financing starts at three percent down for a qualified buyer. FHA starts at three and a half with a lower credit bar. On a median Denver metro purchase, that difference is tens of thousands of dollars in cash you no longer need to have saved before you start.

Putting less down means mortgage insurance, and mortgage insurance is a real monthly cost rather than a technicality. On a conventional loan it falls off at twenty percent equity. On most FHA loans it stays for the life of the loan, which is why many buyers refinance out of FHA two or three years in.

Closing Costs

Closing costs sit separate from the down payment, and they catch first-time buyers off guard more than anything else on the file. Lender fees, title work, an appraisal, recording fees and the prepaid taxes and insurance that fund your escrow account. Plan on a few percent of the purchase price, and then work on reducing it.

A seller concession, a lender credit and an assistance program can each cover part of the same bill.

Assistance Programs

CHFA runs the statewide programs, and several metro-area authorities run their own on top. Some arrive as a grant you never repay. Others are a second mortgage that sits quietly behind the first and comes due when you sell or refinance. Each carries an income ceiling, a purchase price cap and a homebuyer education class.

These programs open and close as funding cycles turn, so the right question is which ones are open the month you are buying rather than which ones existed last year.

The Monthly Payment

Principal and interest, property tax, homeowners insurance, mortgage insurance where it applies, and an HOA fee if the property carries one. Denver county tax rates run lower than several surrounding counties, and the difference between two similar houses on opposite sides of a county line shows up every month for thirty years.

What to Do First

Call before you spend another year saving toward a number you may not need. Fifteen minutes on the phone establishes what you qualify for today, which programs apply to you, and what the real cash to close looks like. No application and no credit pull to begin.