About This Site and Who Runs It
Program and regulatory figures verified September 19, 2026. Details change; confirm your scenario with us.
A lender's site about a Colorado problem that is half financing and half property tax law, and currently being described incorrectly almost everywhere.
Why the site is shaped this way
Most writing about buying before selling comes from the real estate side and focuses on the offer. That is their expertise. What usually decides whether a Colorado move-up or move-down buyer can act is the financing, and here it is tangled with a property tax rule that changed in June 2026 and has not propagated.
A Colorado owner over 65 who moves loses an exemption worth 50% of the first $200,000 of actual value and starts a ten-year clock. That is inside the payment we underwrite, which makes it our problem as much as anyone's.
How we checked the repeal
Because it is the load-bearing fact on this site, we did not rely on summaries. We read the bill record for SB26-116, which shows the Governor signing on June 2, 2026, Chapter 307, effective August 12, 2026. Then we read the enacted act itself, page by page.
The act's own first page states Colorado's drafting convention: capital letters indicate new material added to existing law, and struck-through text indicates deletions. In section 39-1-104.6(2)(a) the sunset "BUT BEFORE JANUARY 1, 2027" appears in capitals, and in section 39-1-104.6(3)(a) the application cap "THROUGH JULY 15, 2026" does too. Both are new. That is how we know the program ended rather than paused.
What we deliberately do not do
We do not advise on purchase contracts, contingencies or offer terms. We are lenders, not licensed real estate agents or attorneys. We do not classify property or determine exemptions; your county assessor does. And we do not predict whether a future legislature will revive senior portability, because a purchase should be planned against the law as it stands.
Two deliberate omissions
We do not publish a dollar estimate of what the senior exemption saves annually, because it depends entirely on county mill levies and any average would be invented. We also do not publish relocation-assistance amounts under HB24-1098, because the bill summary does not carry a figure and at least one legal analysis states the enacted version removed relocation requirements that earlier drafts contained. Cite or omit.
Reach us on the contact page, or start with the Colorado guide.
Frequently asked questions
Are you a real estate agent?
No. Mike Certo is a mortgage loan originator, NMLS #260555, with Cornerstone First Mortgage, NMLS #173855. We finance the purchase; your agent represents you in it and handles the contract. Different licences, different jobs.
Can you tell me whether I qualify for a Colorado property tax exemption?
No. Your county assessor determines eligibility and your tax professional helps you plan around it. What we do is take the outcome seriously when modelling your payment, because the property tax line sits inside the debt ratio that decides your approval.
Do you lend throughout Colorado?
Yes, Colorado statewide. The property tax rules apply across the state, but conforming loan limits vary by county across twenty different values, and marketing times differ sharply between the Front Range and the mountain markets, so your specific county matters.
Mike Certo · NMLS #260555 · Cornerstone First Mortgage NMLS #173855 · Equal Housing Lender. Educational content about financing, not a loan commitment and not legal, tax, or real estate advice. Property tax classifications, exemption eligibility, and landlord-tenant rules change and depend on your facts; your county assessor, your CPA or a Colorado attorney, and your real estate agent each handle their own part. Loans are subject to borrower and property qualification.