Ridgway & Ouray County Mortgage Broker
Jumbo, acreage, and second home loans in Colorado's San Juan Mountains.
The attainable side of the San Juans
Ridgway is the "attainable" mountain town — the same San Juan Mountain scenery as Telluride, 30 minutes up the road at a much lower entry point. Median transaction value here is north of $1.1M, driven by a mix of luxury estates, country homes with real acreage, and primary residences for people who actually live and work in the valley. Most buyers we see are either priced out of Telluride or simply prefer Ridgway's quieter pace, and the math works.
That price point means nearly every financed transaction here is either a jumbo loan, a second-home jumbo, or a Non-QM/portfolio loan on acreage. Ouray County also has a real workforce housing shortage — the Home Trust of Ouray County's 2026 affordable apartment project (16–19 units) helped at the rental level, but the owner-occupied market remains supply-constrained and sellers hold pricing power. Showing up with a strong, fully underwritten pre-approval — not just a pre-qual letter — is how you compete.
Ridgway also sits between Telluride (San Miguel County) and Montrose (Montrose County), and buyers frequently look across all three. Tayton runs financing in all of them.
Acreage & rural property financing
Acreage properties with agricultural use, large outbuildings, or equestrian facilities frequently fall outside conventional Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac guidelines. Standard underwriting treats barns, arenas, and income-producing land as appraisal and risk problems — even when the property is clearly someone's home. The result is usually a denial in underwriting after weeks of work, or an appraisal so stripped down the loan doesn't pencil.
The fix is using lenders who actually finance these properties: Non-QM and portfolio shelves that underwrite the whole property as it sits. Typical structure is 25–30% down, slightly higher rates than conventional, and full credit for the acreage and outbuildings. We've placed working ranches, equestrian setups, and large country properties across Ouray County under this approach.
Loan programs for Ouray County
Conventional
Conforming financing to $832,750 for primary residences in Ridgway and Ouray.
Learn moreJumbo
Loans above $832,750 — most Ridgway transactions land in jumbo territory.
Learn moreSecond Home
10% down second-home financing for buyers using Ridgway as a mountain getaway.
Learn moreDSCR
Qualify on rental income for documented STR and long-term rental properties.
Learn moreNon-QM (acreage & equestrian)
Portfolio loans for acreage with outbuildings, ag use, or equestrian facilities.
Learn moreVA
0% down for veterans buying primary residences in Ouray County.
Learn moreAnything above $832,750 is jumbo in Ouray County — which means most Ridgway transactions need a broker who runs jumbo every week.
Around Ouray County
Ouray
Switzerland of America — tight inventory, jumbo and DSCR fit most transactions.
Placerville
Riverside corridor toward Telluride — acreage and Non-QM territory.
Ridgway State Park corridor
Lake-adjacent properties popular with second-home and recreational buyers.
Buyers we've closed in Ouray County
"Same San Juan views, lower price, and 30 minutes to the gondola. TJ structured the jumbo cleanly and closed on time while we were juggling our Telluride sale."
"40 acres, a barn, and an arena. Two big banks declined. Tayton placed it Non-QM with 25% down and the rate was livable. Loan we couldn't have gotten anywhere else."
"Wanted a small place in Ridgway to ski Telluride and hike the San Juans. Second-home jumbo, 10% down, no PMI, smooth close. TJ was on it the whole way."
Loan programs in this market
Nearby Western Slope markets
Buying in Ridgway or Ouray?
Independent broker. Jumbo and acreage every day. Call or text TJ at 970-708-9624.