20 Questions to Ask a Colorado Buyer's Agent Before You Buy

A Colorado buyer asks two sets of questions before signing a buyer agreement: ten about the home and ten about the agent. The ten about the home (days on market, price history, metro district, HOA, radon, sewer line, hail claims, flood zone, permits, utilities) decide what the home costs to own. The ten about the agent (license, volume, representation, agreement length, fee, who pays what, pricing, inspections, deadlines, exit) decide who is working for you and what that costs.

This guide lists all 20 with the Colorado answer a good agent gives. The Kenna Real Estate Group, Keller Williams DTC, has answered them for Colorado buyers since 2002 and holds 332 five-star Google reviews. Bring the list to the first meeting with any agent, including ours.

What changed for Colorado buyers on August 17, 2024

Since August 17, 2024, a buyer signs a written buyer agreement before an agent tours a home with them, and that agreement states the agent's compensation in a set dollar amount or percentage. The seller no longer decides what the buyer's agent earns through the MLS. The buyer negotiates it, and the buyer's agent asks the seller to pay it as a term of the offer.

Colorado used written buyer agreements before 2024, so the state's form, the Exclusive Right-to-Buy Listing Contract, already existed. What is new is that the fee is a buyer question, not a seller question. Questions 14 and 15 below cover it. Our guide to choosing a good Realtor for first-time buyers covers the interview itself.

Ten questions to ask about the home

1. How many days has it been on the market, and what is the price history? Ask for cumulative days on market from REcolorado, not the days since the latest relist. Ask for every price change with its date. A Denver metro listing that has sat 60 days with two price cuts negotiates differently from one listed 4 days ago. The Colorado market reports show the current median days on market by city.
2. What does the Seller's Property Disclosure say? Colorado sellers complete the Colorado Real Estate Commission's Seller's Property Disclosure form. Read every "Yes" and every blank. A blank next to "roof" or "basement water" is a question for the listing agent, in writing, before the inspection.
3. Is the home in a metro district, and what is the mill levy and the debt? Metro districts are special taxing districts that repay developer bonds through property taxes. They are common in Parker, Castle Rock, Aurora, Commerce City, Thornton and Erie. Two homes with the same price sit 20 minutes apart and pay tax bills that differ by $2,000 or more a year because of the district. Colorado's overall property taxes rank low nationally, which is why the district line item surprises buyers from other states. The Denver special district and metro district tax guide explains how to read the county assessor's tax breakdown.
4. What are the HOA dues, the reserve balance, and the current or pending special assessments? The Colorado contract has an association documents deadline. The buyer receives the declarations, rules, budget, reserve study and minutes, and terminates for any reason before that deadline with the earnest money returned. The Denver HOA rules and fees guide lists what to read first.
5. Has the home been tested for radon? Colorado sits in the EPA's highest radon zone. A 48-hour test costs $150 to $250. A reading at or above 4.0 pCi/L is the action level; a mitigation system costs $1,200 to $2,500 and is one of the most common inspection resolutions on the Front Range.
6. Has the sewer line been scoped? Homes built before 1975 across Denver, Lakewood, Arvada, Englewood and Littleton run on clay or Orangeburg sewer lines. A camera scope costs $150 to $300. A replacement costs $5,000 to $15,000, more where the line crosses a street. Skip the scope and that bill is yours.
7. How old is the roof, and has there been a hail claim? Colorado hail season runs May to September. Ask for the roof's age, the shingle class, and any insurance claim history. Insurers surcharge or decline roofs older than 15 to 20 years, and many Colorado policies now carry a separate wind and hail deductible of 1% to 2% of the dwelling coverage. Read the roof report every Colorado buyer should read before closing.
8. Is the home in a FEMA flood zone, and where does the water go? A home in a Special Flood Hazard Area with a federally backed loan requires flood insurance. Outside the mapped zones, grading and drainage still decide whether a Front Range basement stays dry. The Denver flood zones and drainage buyer guide shows how to check the map.
9. Were the basement finish, the deck and the addition permitted? Denver, Aurora, Jefferson County and Douglas County all publish permit records online. An unpermitted basement bedroom is not counted by the appraiser and is a future seller's problem, which means yours.
10. Who supplies the water, gas, electricity and sewer, and what do they cost? Xcel Energy covers most of the metro. Water comes from Denver Water, Aurora Water, a district or a well, and the bills differ. A well and septic outside the city require a Colorado Division of Water Resources well permit and a county septic inspection at transfer. The Denver utility providers and costs guide has the monthly ranges.

Ten questions to ask the agent

11. How long have you been licensed, and where do I check? Every Colorado agent is licensed through the Division of Real Estate at DORA, and the license lookup is public. Check the license type and any discipline before the first showing.
12. How many buyers did you close in the last 12 months, and how many in this city? An agent who closed 3 purchases in Castle Rock knows the metro districts there. An agent who closed 30 statewide knows the contract. You want both, and the answer tells you which one you are getting. Meet the Kenna Real Estate Group agents and ask each one.
13. Are you a buyer's agent or a transaction broker? Colorado law recognizes both, and the agent hands you a Brokerage Disclosure to Buyer form that says which. A buyer's agent owes you loyalty and advocacy. A transaction broker assists both sides without advocating for either. Get the answer in writing before you sign.
14. How long does the buyer agreement run, and how do I end it? Ask for the term in days, the exact fee, and the cancellation language. A 90-day term with a written cancellation clause protects you. A 12-month term with no exit does not.
15. Who pays your fee? The correct answer since August 2024: the fee is stated in the buyer agreement, the offer asks the seller to pay it, and if the seller pays less the difference comes from the buyer at closing. Any agent who says the service is free is wrong.
16. Who pays what at closing? The table below is the Colorado custom. Buyer closing costs land at 2% to 3% of the price before prepaid taxes and insurance. The closing costs for Colorado home buyers page itemizes them.
17. How do you decide what to offer? The answer names sold comparables from the last 90 days within one mile, adjusted for finished basement, garage, lot and metro district. The Kenna Real Estate Group prepares the same pricing analysis for buyers that it prepares for sellers. Read making an offer on a Colorado home.
18. Which inspections do you order, and who does them? A general inspection, a sewer scope and a radon test on every Front Range purchase, plus a roofer after hail and a structural engineer when the foundation shows movement. The agent names the inspectors and schedules them inside the objection window.
19. Who tracks the contract deadlines? The Colorado Contract to Buy and Sell has more than a dozen dated deadlines: association documents, title objection, inspection objection, inspection resolution, appraisal, loan termination and closing. Ask whether the agent or a transaction coordinator tracks them and how you are told each one is met.
20. If I want out, how do I get my earnest money back? Earnest money on a Denver metro purchase runs 1% to 2% of the price and sits with the title company. The buyer terminates with the earnest money returned by giving written notice before the relevant deadline: association documents, title, inspection, appraisal or loan. Miss the deadline and the money is at risk. The what happens after your offer is accepted page walks the dates in order.

Who pays what at a Colorado closing

The financing question to ask before the first showing

Ask the agent who they trust for a pre-approval and how fast that lender closes. Listing agents in the Denver metro read the lender's name on the pre-approval letter and judge the offer by it. The Kenna Real Estate Group works with Mike Oswald, VP of Mortgage Lending at Rate, NMLS 261003, Equal Housing Lender, who issues a full underwritten pre-approval before the buyer tours. You are free to use any lender. The Colorado home financing guide and the Colorado mortgage pre-approval guide explain what a full pre-approval includes.

The same 20 questions work in any state

The home questions change with the geography and the agent questions do not. A buyer interviewing a Rigby real estate agent in eastern Idaho asks the same ten agent questions and gets different home answers: irrigation water rights instead of metro districts, winter access instead of hail. In Colorado, the ten home answers above are the ones that change the monthly payment. First-time buyers get the full sequence in the first-time home buyer guide for Colorado, and every buyer gets the contract explained in the Colorado home buyer's guide.

Where to go next

• How the Kenna Real Estate Group helps buyers
• Hire a buyer's agent in Colorado before viewing homes
• Buyer's due diligence checklist for Denver real estate
• How HOAs, metro districts and taxes affect Denver metro buyers
• Radon and the Denver home purchase before inspection week
• Search every home for sale in Colorado

Talk to the Kenna Real Estate Group

The Kenna Real Estate Group, Keller Williams DTC, answers all 20 questions in writing at the first meeting, puts the fee and the term in a buyer agreement you read before you sign, and orders the sewer scope, radon test and roof check on every Front Range purchase. Call or text 303-955-4220. A live person answers. Not a robot, not a phone tree. Start with the list, then search every home for sale in Colorado.