Question 1

Does Colorado give investors any property tax relief?

Accepted Answer

No, and there is nothing to lose either, which is a cleaner answer than most states give. The senior and veteran homestead exemptions are occupancy-based and never applied to non-owner-occupied property, and Colorado has no homestead-style valuation cap for an investor to forfeit at purchase. What you pay is the standard calculation: actual value times assessment rate times mill levy. Since tax year 2025 residential property carries two assessment rates, 7.05% against school district mills and 6.25% against local government mills for 2025, moving to 7.05% and 6.8% for 2026 with 10% of actual value, capped at $70,000, subtracted first on the local-government side. Even at investor rates, Colorado residential property tax is low by national standards.

Question 2

When does a Colorado assessment change, and how do I contest it?

Accepted Answer

Real property is revalued every odd-numbered year, and notices of valuation are mailed by May 1. CRS 39-5-122(2) requires a real property protest to be postmarked, delivered, or given in person by June 8. The assessor answers by the last regular working day in June, or by August 15 in counties that elected the alternate procedure. On a documented-income file that reset matters twice: it changes your actual carry, and it changes the escrow the servicer collects. Calendar June 8 in the year you buy and again every odd year after. What happens past the assessor, at the county board of equalization and beyond, has its own deadlines that are worth confirming with property tax counsel.

Question 3

What does closing a Colorado investment purchase actually cost?

Accepted Answer

Less than most states. CRS 39-13-102 charges a documentary fee of one cent per $100 of consideration when a deed records, so a $450,000 purchase costs $45 (450,000 divided by 100 = 4,500, times $0.01 = $45), with no fee where consideration is $500 or less. Colorado has no state real estate transfer tax beyond that, and TABOR bars new ones, though a few home-rule mountain towns retain pre-1992 grandfathered transfer taxes. None are in the Denver or Colorado Springs metros. Recording has been flat at $43 per document since July 1, 2025 under HB24-1269, regardless of page count. Closing runs through a title company escrow desk rather than an attorney, and because Colorado title rates are filed by each underwriter rather than promulgated, premiums vary and are worth shopping.

Question 4

How much does insurance move a Colorado conventional payment?

Accepted Answer

Enough to change the deal, and more than an out-of-state buyer expects. Colorado homeowners premiums have grown roughly 100.8% since 2020, the largest increase of any state, and Federal Insurance Office data put the average annual premium near $4,072 for $300,000 of coverage, sixth-costliest in the country and up 58% from 2018 to 2023. The driver is hail rather than wildfire: a Division of Insurance analysis published in February 2026 attributes 26% to 54% of premium to hail depending on county, roughly half along the Front Range, against about 1% for wildfire in Denver. On an escrowed conventional loan that lands directly in the monthly payment. Get a bindable quote on the specific address, and expect roof age to be the first question the carrier asks.

Question 5

Where in Colorado does conventional leverage pencil?

Accepted Answer

Wherever the rent supports the payment, which varies by metro rather than by statute. Everything on this page applies identically statewide. Price, rent, and days on market do not: Denver sits at the highest basis with the deepest demand, Colorado Springs at a lower basis with military-driven tenancy, and Fort Collins is a smaller supply-constrained northern market. For those numbers go to Denver conventional investment loans or Fort Collins conventional investment loans. If your returns do not support the debt, Colorado DSCR rental loans qualify on the property instead.

Question 6

What credit score do I need for a Colorado conventional investment loan?

Accepted Answer

Credit starts at 580 on this program, the lowest floor we publish. It is a documented-income loan, so the tradeoff is paperwork: tax returns, W-2s or business returns, and a debt-to-income calculation. Score above the floor mostly affects pricing rather than approval. There is no hard credit pull to start. Property must be non-owner-occupied. Subject to underwriting.

Question 7

How much do I put down on a Colorado conventional investment purchase?

Accepted Answer

20% at maximum leverage. We go up to 80% LTV, so on a $400,000 Colorado rental purchase that is $320,000 from us and $80,000 from you (400,000 x 80% = 320,000), before closing costs. Add the documentary fee, the flat $43 per document recording charge, and a bindable insurance quote. This program requires documented income, so bring returns rather than deposits. Subject to underwriting.

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