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Buying a home in Colorado runs on forms written by the Colorado Real Estate Commission, and a first-time buyer who understands five of them, the Brokerage Disclosure, the buyer agreement, the Contract to Buy and Sell, the title commitment and the Seller's Property Disclosure, holds every legal lever in the deal. Closing happens at a title company, not a law office, and the contract's deadlines decide whether the earnest money comes back.
This guide walks through each document in the order a Colorado buyer meets it, what each deadline does, and the situations where a Colorado real estate attorney earns the fee. Pair it with the first-time home buyer guide for Colorado, which covers the money side.
The Brokerage Disclosure to Buyer
Before an agent shows a home or discusses a buyer's price and motivation, Colorado requires the agent to hand over the Brokerage Disclosure to Buyer. It is a one-page Commission form that explains the three ways an agent works with a buyer: as a buyer's agent with duties of loyalty and advocacy, as a transaction-broker who assists both sides without advocating for either, or with the buyer as a customer while the agent represents the seller. Colorado does not allow dual agency. Without a signed agreement, the default relationship in Colorado is transaction-brokerage.
The buyer agency agreement
The Exclusive Right-to-Buy Listing Contract is the Commission form that makes an agent a buyer's agent. It states the term, the area, the agent's compensation and who pays it. Since August 2024 a buyer must have a written agreement with an agent before touring homes listed in the MLS, and the compensation is negotiated in that agreement, not set by the listing. Ask what happens if the seller offers to pay part or all of it; the form has a line for that. The how the Kenna Real Estate Group works with you page states the group's terms in plain language.
The Contract to Buy and Sell Real Estate
Every residential purchase written by a Colorado broker uses the Commission's Contract to Buy and Sell Real Estate (Residential). The buyer's agent fills in the price, the earnest money, the financing terms, the inclusions and exclusions, and the dates. Once both sides sign, the contract binds them; there is no attorney review period in Colorado. Read the making an offer on a Colorado home guide for the price and terms side.
The deadlines that run the deal
Section 3 of the contract is a table of dates. Every one is a buyer protection with a name, and missing one waives it. The ones a first-time buyer must track:
| Deadline | What it does for the buyer | Front Range norm from contract acceptance |
|---|---|---|
| Earnest Money Deadline | Date the deposit is due to the escrow holder | 2 to 3 days |
| Record Title and Off-Record Title Deadlines | Seller delivers the title commitment and known unrecorded matters | 7 to 10 days |
| Title Objection and Resolution Deadlines | Buyer objects in writing to title defects; both sides fix or terminate | Within a week of the commitment |
| Association Documents Deadlines | HOA declarations, budget and minutes delivered; buyer can terminate over them | 10 to 14 days |
| Seller's Property Disclosure Deadline | Seller delivers the disclosure form | 3 to 7 days |
| Inspection Objection, Termination and Resolution Deadlines | Buyer inspects, asks for repairs or credits, or terminates with earnest money back | 7 to 12 days |
| New Loan Terms and New Loan Availability Deadlines | Buyer can terminate if the loan terms or the loan itself fall through | A few days before closing |
| Appraisal Deadline and Objection Deadline | Buyer can terminate or renegotiate if the appraisal comes in low | A week before closing |
| Property Insurance Termination Deadline | Buyer can terminate if the home cannot be insured at an acceptable cost | Two weeks before closing |
| Closing Date and Possession Date | Deed and money change hands; buyer gets the keys | 21 to 45 days |
A buyer who terminates in writing before the matching deadline gets the earnest money back. A buyer who lets a deadline pass and then tries to walk is in default. The cancelations and penalties in the Colorado real estate contract post walks through each exit and what it costs.
Earnest money: how much and when it comes back
Front Range buyers put down 1% to 3% of the price as earnest money, delivered to the title company or the listing brokerage named in the contract. It counts toward the down payment and closing costs at the end.
Earnest money returns to the buyer when the buyer terminates under any contract deadline, on time and in writing. Earnest money goes to the seller when the buyer defaults, if the contract's liquidated damages box is checked; that is the Front Range norm. Release requires both parties' signatures on the Commission's Earnest Money Release form. If the two sides disagree, the escrow holder keeps the money until they settle or a court decides, so a buyer's written termination notice on the right day is the whole ballgame.
Title commitment and objections
The seller's title company issues a title commitment within the Record Title Deadline. It lists who owns the home, every lien and mortgage to be paid at closing, and every recorded easement, covenant and restriction that stays with the property. Schedule B is where the surprises live: a utility easement across the back yard, a covenant that bans a detached garage, an old deed of trust never released. Front Range custom has the seller pay for the buyer's owner's title policy; the buyer pays for the lender's policy.
The buyer objects in writing by the Title Objection Deadline to anything unacceptable. The seller then cures it or the buyer terminates with the earnest money returned. On a home with acreage or a fence line in question, ask about a survey; the Colorado ILC versus land survey guide explains which one to order.
The Seller's Property Disclosure and the other Colorado disclosures
Colorado sellers fill out the Commission's Seller's Property Disclosure, a checklist of the roof, structure, mechanical systems, water, sewer, environmental conditions and past insurance claims. The seller must disclose known adverse material facts; the form is not a warranty and does not replace an inspection. A buyer who reads a checked box for past basement water or a hail claim asks for the receipts.
Colorado stacks other disclosures on top:
- Source of Water. Whether the home is on a municipal system, a well or a shared system, required by state statute.
- Oil, gas, water and mineral rights. The contract discloses whether the surface estate is severed from the minerals and whether oil and gas activity is nearby.
- Special taxing districts. The contract warns the buyer to check metro district debt and mill levies. The Denver special district and metro district tax guide explains what a new-build district adds to the bill.
- Lead-based paint. Federal disclosure on any home built before 1978.
- Methamphetamine. Colorado requires disclosure of known contamination.
- Common interest community. HOA status and documents under the Colorado Common Interest Ownership Act.
The buyer's due diligence checklist for Denver lists what to verify behind each one.
The loan deadlines and what they protect
Two contract dates protect a financed buyer. The New Loan Terms Deadline lets the buyer terminate if the rate, points or program are not acceptable. The New Loan Availability Deadline lets the buyer terminate if the lender will not fund, with the earnest money returned. A buyer whose loan is denied after that date loses the earnest money. Set the availability deadline no earlier than the day the lender commits to a clear-to-close. Mike Oswald, VP of Mortgage Lending at Rate, NMLS 261003, Equal Housing Lender, gives Kenna buyers a written pre-approval and a clear-to-close date that the contract deadlines are built around. You are free to use any lender. The Colorado home financing guide and the Colorado mortgage pre-approval guide cover the loan side.
Closing at a Colorado title company
Colorado closings happen at a title company. The closer prepares the settlement statement, collects the buyer's wired funds and the lender's funds, has both sides sign, pays off the seller's liens, and records the deed and the buyer's deed of trust with the county clerk and recorder. Both parties sign the Commission's Closing Instructions form early in the contract, which is what authorizes the title company to act. No attorney is required at a Colorado closing.
Two things go wrong at closings. Wire fraud: confirm wiring instructions by phone with the title company at a number from its website, never from an email. The walk-through: do it within 24 hours of closing and confirm every inspection repair is done. The what is needed to close on a house in Colorado post lists what to bring, and closing costs for Colorado home buyers breaks down the settlement statement.
Property taxes and the assessor
Colorado Property taxes are paid in arrears: the bill that arrives in January covers the prior year, and it is due in full by April 30 or in halves at the end of February and mid-June. At closing the seller credits the buyer for the days of the year the seller owned the home. County assessors revalue every home in odd-numbered years, so a buyer who closes in an even year sees a new value the following spring and has a short window to protest it. Metro district mill levies on new-build subdivisions in Aurora, Parker, Castle Rock and Erie can double the tax bill of a similar older home. The Denver property taxes guide shows how to read a bill before making the offer.
Zoning and HOA rules
Zoning is set by the city or county and decides whether a buyer can add an accessory dwelling unit, run a business from home, park an RV, or build a second story. The Denver ADU, zoning and historic district guide shows how to check a lot. An HOA layers private rules on top of zoning through recorded covenants. The Association Documents Deadline exists so the buyer reads them before the inspection period ends. The Denver HOA rules and fees guide covers what to look for in the declarations and the budget.
When to hire a Colorado real estate attorney
Most Front Range purchases close on the Commission forms with no lawyer involved. Hire a Colorado-licensed real estate attorney, for a flat fee in the low hundreds to a few thousand dollars, when:
- The seller is an estate, a trust, a divorcing couple or a bank, and the deed or the authority to sign is in question.
- The contract is a builder's own form instead of the Commission contract.
- The seller is carrying the financing, or the buyer is purchasing through an LLC or trust.
- The title commitment shows an unreleased lien, a boundary dispute, or an easement that blocks the buyer's plans.
- The seller refuses to release earnest money after a proper termination.
- A defect turns up after closing that the seller knew about and did not disclose.
The firm that sponsored the original version of this article, Two Spruce Law, handles real estate matters; you are free to use any attorney, and a Colorado purchase needs one licensed in Colorado.
Where to go next
- The Colorado Home Buyer's Guide
- Escrow: what happens after your offer is accepted
- First-time homebuyer programs in Denver
- How the Kenna Real Estate Group helps buyers
- Homes for sale in Denver
- Meet the agents of the Kenna Real Estate Group
Talk to the Kenna Real Estate Group
The Kenna Real Estate Group, Keller Williams DTC, writes every first-time buyer's contract on the Colorado forms with deadlines the buyer can meet, tracks each date in writing, and brings in a Colorado attorney when the deal calls for one. Call or text 303-955-4220. A live person answers. Not a robot, not a phone tree. Then search every home for sale in Colorado and bring the questions.