40 Things to Consider When Buying a House in the Boulder Area

Colorado is a wonderful place! And living along the Front Range offers a lifestyle that is hard to beat, which is why so many communities here are routinely selected as “best places to live.” The incredible Colorado lifestyle comes with a price; the average home price in Boulder and nearby communities is higher than the national average. And there is an incredible diversity of housing stock in our area from new single-family homes to 1960s modern-era ranches to 1920s cottages to luxury and ranch properties to condos and townhomes of every era. The choices can seem overwhelming, but if there is one lesson we have learned at Agents for Home Buyers over our 25 years helping people buy homes in Boulder and nearby, it’s that there are many things to consider when buying a house.

In many respects, the most important part of evaluating a property is the part of the process of selecting the home in the first place. Does the home have the right number of bedrooms and baths? Does it provide adequate access to work, shopping, schools and a good Saturday morning breakfast? Does it have room for the garden, the workshop, and the kids? Does it appeal to you aesthetically?

Once you’ve found a home that offers what you want, we need to take the next step and make sure that there are no hidden problems that will turn your dream home into a personal or financial nightmare.

Let’s explore the factors that Agents for Home Buyers considers when we are advising home buyers; the considerations, the risks, the pros and cons of different places to live in the Denver-Boulder real estate market.

We will cover:

This list of issues is not intended to be exhaustive — nor could it be. The goal of this article is to give home buyers a sense of the types of issues that need to be considered. We see problems and considerations like the ones in this article again and again in this area.

This is definitely not a DIY home-buying guide! This list cannot replace hiring experts like real estate agents, professional home inspectors, and attorneys. The potential hazards are varied, complex, and potentially costly enough that you need professional expertise.

This list only applies to Colorado’s Front Range and our experience as buyer agents. Termites are not a pervasive issue in our area (nor are earthquakes), but in other markets, they can be major problems. Rely on local experts or expect trouble!

Don’t fall into the trap of using this list, or similar lists, in the search for the perfect home. Homes are like people—and everything else in the real world. They all have their virtues and their limitations. Instead of thinking that this list is a way to find the perfect home, consider it an exercise in understanding the strengths and weaknesses of the home you’re considering. Give these topics some thought to help make sure that you can either live with the problems that do exist or that you can eliminate them.

Finally, don’t let this list deter you from buying a home! If you work with good people and take reasonable precautions, your risks of getting burned are low.

Contact Agents for Home Buyers and see how we can help. The considerations here are ones we help our clients weigh every day, for 25 years in this Denver-Boulder housing market.