How to Choose a Realtor: 12 Questions to Ask in Colorado

A Colorado first-time buyer picks a Realtor by interviewing three licensed brokers, reading the Brokerage Disclosure to Buyer each one hands over, and signing an Exclusive Right-to-Buy Listing Contract only with the one who answers the twelve questions below without dodging. In Colorado every agent is licensed as a broker by the Division of Real Estate, the working relationship is defined by a state form, and the fee is written into the contract before the first showing.

This guide covers what is different about buying in Colorado, where to find agents in the Denver metro and along the Front Range, how to screen them, and what the Kenna Real Estate Group does for a first purchase. Read it with the first-time home buyer guide for Colorado, which covers the purchase itself step by step.

Buyer's agent or transaction-broker: the Colorado choice that matters most

Colorado law gives a broker two ways to work with a buyer. A buyer's agent represents you: the broker owes you loyalty, advocates for your price and terms, and keeps your information confidential. A transaction-broker assists the deal without representing either side: the broker handles paperwork and deadlines but does not advocate for you against the seller.

Unless you sign a written agreement naming the broker as your agent, Colorado treats the broker as a transaction-broker by default. First-time buyers who never sign anything walk into negotiations with nobody on their side. Ask every candidate: "Will you act as my buyer's agent in writing?" The answer is yes or no.

• Brokerage Disclosure to Buyer. The Colorado Real Estate Commission form a broker gives you before working with you without an agency agreement. It states the broker is a transaction-broker or is treating you as a customer. It is a disclosure, not a contract, and signing it commits you to nothing.
• Exclusive Right-to-Buy Listing Contract. The Commission-approved buyer agreement. It names the working relationship (buyer agency or transaction-brokerage), the term, the area or property type covered, and the compensation. This is the document that makes the broker your agent.
• Definitions of Working Relationships. A one-page Commission form that explains the choices above in plain language. Read it before you sign the contract.

Who pays the buyer's agent in Colorado since August 2024?

Since the national rule changes took effect on August 17, 2024, a broker working with a buyer must have a written agreement before touring a listed home, and the buyer's compensation is no longer published on the MLS. Colorado's Exclusive Right-to-Buy contract already required the fee in writing; the change is that the amount is now negotiated and set with you first.

In practice the fee is paid one of three ways: the seller agrees in the purchase contract to pay it, the seller offers a concession that covers it, or you pay it at closing. The Kenna Real Estate Group writes the request for seller-paid compensation into the offer on every first-time buyer purchase, and the Colorado closing costs guide shows where the fee lands on the settlement statement when the seller does not cover it.

Check the license before you check the reviews

Every Colorado real estate licensee is listed on the Division of Real Estate license lookup at dre.colorado.gov. Look for an active license, the employing brokerage, and any disciplinary history. Colorado licenses everyone as a broker: an associate broker works under an employing broker, and an independent broker runs their own office. "Realtor" means the broker is also a member of the National Association of Realtors, which is separate from the state license.

Where Colorado first-time buyers find agents

• The brokerage's own agent page. The Kenna Real Estate Group agents page lists each agent with the Front Range cities they work, from Fort Collins to Colorado Springs, so you match on geography first.
• Online directories. Realtor.com and Zillow list agents by city with transaction counts and reviews. Add the city to the search: "buyer's agent Aurora" returns a different list than "buyer's agent Littleton".
• Referrals. A friend who closed in Highlands Ranch in the last two years knows how their agent handled inspection objections and appraisal gaps. Ask what went wrong, not what went right.
• Other brokerages' checklists. Independent brokerages elsewhere, such as John Goodman Real Estate, publish agent-interview lists; the Colorado questions below go further because our contract forms and deadlines are state-specific.

How to read agent reviews without being fooled

Read the three-star reviews first; they describe what the agent does when a deal gets hard. Ignore reviews that never name a city or a problem. A Denver agent with 40 reviews that each mention a specific neighborhood, an inspection issue, or a closing date is telling you more than an agent with 400 reviews that all say "great to work with". The Kenna Real Estate Group publishes 332 client reviews on its reviews page, and the group has bought and sold homes on the Front Range since 2002.

Twelve questions to ask a Colorado agent before you sign

1. Will you represent me as a buyer's agent in writing, not as a transaction-broker?
2. What is your fee, and how will you ask the seller to cover it in the offer?
3. How many buyers did you close in the last 12 months in the cities I am looking at?
4. Walk me through the Dates and Deadlines table in the Contract to Buy and Sell. What happens if I miss the inspection objection deadline?
5. Which inspectors do you use for sewer scopes and radon tests, and what do they cost on the Front Range?
6. How do you handle an appraisal that comes in below the contract price?
7. Have you closed a CHFA or metroDPA down payment assistance loan? How long did it take?
8. What do you do when a listing gets multiple offers in the first weekend?
9. How do you explain a metro district tax bill, an HOA transfer fee, or a solar lease to a buyer?
10. Who answers when I call on a Sunday night, and how fast?
11. How long is your buyer agreement, and how do I end it if we are not a fit?
12. What is the last thing that went wrong on one of your transactions, and how did you fix it?

Should a first-time buyer use the listing agent?

No. In Colorado the listing agent already represents the seller. If you go through that agent, the brokerage either treats you as a customer with no representation or switches to transaction-brokerage, and in both cases the person negotiating your price also owes duties to the other side. Bring your own buyer's agent to a listing, a builder's model home, and a for-sale-by-owner. The hire a buyer's agent before viewing homes in Colorado post explains what the builder's sales office does not tell you.

How long the agreement lasts and how to end it

The Exclusive Right-to-Buy contract has a start date and an end date that you negotiate; 90 days is a common term for an active first-time buyer, and the contract renews only if both sides sign again. If the relationship is not working, ask for a written mutual release. The Kenna Real Estate Group releases any buyer who asks; a broker who refuses is telling you what the rest of the transaction will look like.

Get pre-approved before the first tour

A Colorado listing agent reads the pre-approval letter before the offer. Get one first so the agent you choose knows your price ceiling on day one. Mike Oswald, VP of Mortgage Lending at Rate, NMLS 261003, Equal Housing Lender, issues pre-approvals for Kenna Real Estate Group buyers, including CHFA and FHA loans. You are free to use any lender. Start with the Colorado mortgage pre-approval guide and the Colorado home financing guide.

What the Kenna Real Estate Group does differently for a first purchase

• Buyer agency in writing, every time. Every buyer gets the Definitions of Working Relationships form, the Exclusive Right-to-Buy contract with the fee spelled out, and a plain explanation before signing.
• An agent matched to the city. A Fort Collins buyer works with an agent who closes in Larimer County; a Parker buyer gets one who knows Douglas County metro districts.
• A written Property Showing Report after each tour. Each home you see gets a scorecard so the second tour compares against the first instead of memory.
• Deadlines managed on a calendar. Inspection objection, appraisal, loan termination, and title deadlines are tracked from the day the contract is signed.
• A live person on the phone. 303-955-4220 reaches a person, not a phone tree, seven days a week.

The how the Kenna Real Estate Group works with you page shows the process from first call to keys, and the common concerns of first-time home buyers in Colorado post answers the questions buyers ask on that first call.

Start looking in the right city

The agent choice goes faster when the geography is set. A buyer commuting to the Denver Tech Center shops differently from one working in Boulder or Colorado Springs. Browse homes in Aurora, homes in Littleton, and homes in Fort Collins, or search every home for sale in Colorado and save the neighborhoods that fit the commute and the budget before the first interview.

Where to go next

• First-time home buyer guide for Colorado
• The Colorado Home Buyer's Guide
• How the Kenna Real Estate Group helps buyers
• Why a great buyer's agent matters in Colorado
• First-time homebuyer programs in Denver
• Kenna Real Estate Group agents

Talk to the Kenna Real Estate Group

The Kenna Real Estate Group at Keller Williams DTC represents first-time buyers as buyer's agents in writing, matches each buyer with an agent who closes in their city, manages every Contract to Buy and Sell deadline, and writes the request for seller-paid compensation into the offer. Call or text 303-955-4220. A live person answers. Not a robot, not a phone tree. When you are ready to look, search every home for sale in Colorado.