Meritage Homes in the Denver Metro

Meritage Homes is a national builder whose energy-efficient package is standard on every home rather than an upgrade. In the Denver metro that means entry and move-up plans in Aurora, Commerce City, Firestone, Morrison, Windsor and Greeley. The grid below is every listing on this site that names Meritage Homes as the builder, $365K to $775K across 14 cities; the city table and the cost example below sort out what the price does and does not include.

Meritage Homes builder snapshot, Denver metro

Counts and prices come from the listings on this site and refresh with the weekly pass; the grid above is the live list on any given day. Finished homes, to-be-built homes and resales of Meritage Homes-built homes all appear when the listing names the builder.

What a Meritage Homes home costs per month: a worked example

The example uses the average Meritage Homes listing price on this site, 5 percent down on a conventional loan at a 7 percent note rate, in a community with a metro district. The assumptions are on the chart so you can swap in your own.

Before you visit a Meritage Homes sales office

• Register your agent on the first visit. Meritage Homes pays the buyer agent; walking in alone removes your negotiator, not the commission.
• Ask for the quick move-in list with days on market. Finished homes that have sat carry the credits; to-be-builts carry design allowances.
• Get two loan quotes. its lender partners and one outside lender, both with the metro district tax in the payment.
• Inspect twice during construction. Pre-drywall and final, your own inspector.
• Read three documents before the deposit. The purchase agreement, the warranty booklet, and the metro district disclosure.

Questions Denver buyers ask about Meritage Homes

What will taxes, HOA dues and metro district charges add to my payment?

In a metro-district community the effective tax rate runs about 0.9 to 1.3 percent of value, roughly double an older neighborhood without a district. HOA dues in Meritage Homes communities run $50 to $150 a month. Ask for the total mill levy and the district debt before you compare with a resale.

Can I compare its lender partners with an outside lender?

Yes, and you should. The incentives usually require its lender partners, so compare the whole package: rate, points, closing-cost credit, and the payment in year one and year five. Take the lower year-five payment.

What does the advertised base price leave out?

The lot premium, the design-center upgrades, the metro district tax, the HOA and closing costs. On a Meritage Homes home the lot and upgrades add $15,000 to $80,000 to the price, and the tax, insurance and dues add $900 to $1,300 a month to the mortgage payment.

How do deposits, upgrades and cancellation terms work?

Earnest money at contract, often $5,000 to $10,000, plus a design-center deposit when upgrades are selected. Cancellation terms live in the purchase agreement, and the upgrade deposit is the part buyers lose; read that section before signing and have the contingencies written in.

What should I know before visiting a Meritage Homes sales office with my own agent?

Register the agent on the first visit, in person or on the online form. Meritage Homes pays the buyer agent; walking in alone does not lower the price. Bring the quick move-in question: which finished homes have sat past 60 days.

What is Meritage Homes giving right now?

Rate buydowns through the builder lender and price adjustments on spec homes. Ask for it three ways, as a permanent buydown, a 2-1 temporary buydown and cash toward closing, and compare the year-one and year-five payments.

Meritage Homes homes for sale statewide, what every builder is giving right now, all new construction homes for sale, and what closing costs are that the credits pay. Call or text 303-955-4220 with the community name. A live person answers and sends the current incentive, the mill levy and the two-lender comparison the same day.