Conventional loans in Colorado — the workhorse program.

The 2026 baseline conforming limit in most Colorado counties is $806,500 for a single-family home. High-cost Colorado counties — including Eagle, Pitkin, San Miguel, Summit, Routt, Garfield, and parts of Boulder — go up to the high-balance ceiling of $1,149,825 (Eagle and Pitkin reach the maximum). 2–4 unit conforming limits are higher in every county.

Conventional loans require a 620 minimum credit score for most lenders. Best pricing typically kicks in at 740+, with additional tiers at 760 and 780. Below 700 you'll see meaningfully higher PMI factors if putting less than 20% down — which is often where FHA becomes a better option to compare.

3% down on Conventional 97 / HomeReady / Home Possible for first-time buyers (or repeat buyers meeting income limits on HomeReady). 5% down on standard conventional. 10% on second homes. 15–25% on investment property depending on units.

Conventional almost always wins for borrowers with 680+ credit and 5%+ down — lower PMI factor and PMI eventually drops off automatically. FHA tends to win for credit under 680, gift-fund-heavy down payments, or files with collections / non-traditional credit. We'll quote both side-by-side.

Yes — conventional financing is available in every Colorado mountain market. In Eagle, Pitkin, Summit, San Miguel, Routt, and Garfield counties the high-balance limit goes up to $1,149,825 / $1,209,750, which covers a large portion of resort-area purchases without needing jumbo.

Most of our Colorado conventional purchases close in 21–28 days from contract. Refinances run 25–35 days. We control the pipeline as a broker — we'll commit to a realistic close date and hit it.