[Noah930]

PMI is what you pay when you don't have 20% down. It's basically insurance against you backing out of your mortgage responsibility. You effectively don't get anything out of PMI--it doesn't pay down the principle or interest. It's there for the lender for its protection against you defaulting on the house.

I second the above recommendations to: 1) rent for 6-12 months before you buy. 2) Use redfin to at least guide you in your property search. They also can work for you as your buyer's agent, but will kick back to you something like 1.5% of the purchase price at the conclusion of the deal. But you don't have to use their agency services to use their website's search features. I thought it was the best property search listing service out there. When you find a house you're serious about, see if propertyshark.com lists CO properties. It gives super detailed info on that specific property (from a taxation/public registry perspective).