by guest contributor, K. Hartnett

It was 2018, and Brian and Krysten decided they were ready to make a move—in more ways than one.

They were in Connecticut, renting a small, “if you could call it a three bedroom” place from a friend. But they wanted a place of their own. 

In Colorado.

With high hopes, the two planned a scouting trip to Denver. But first, Brian researched a few real estate agents online and messaged them:

My wife and I are moving to the area. We may be looking to buy, and we need some ideas.

Heather was among the first to respond.

She actually reached out amazingly quickly and offered to not only give us some ideas, but to actually meet us in person and show us around some different neighborhoods.

So, Brian and Krysten made plans to meet Heather when they got to town. And almost immediately, the couple had their first “wow” moment with Dwell Denver.

She picked us up and brought us burritos from Santiago’s. Who does that? 

But the most significant “Who does that?” would come later that day.

Brian and Krysten weren’t sure if they’d end up in Boulder or Denver for work, so they were looking at neighborhoods in between. There were a ton of what-ifs to contend with. The couple were hoping to move to Colorado, but they really didn’t know when that could realistically happen. After all, at the time they were scoping out neighborhoods, they hadn’t even landed jobs yet.

At the end of our time together, Heather looked at the both of us and said, “Rent for a year.” 

We loved her brutal honesty. She could have easily made a quick buck… but she was watching out for us. We didn’t know anything about the area, and her concern was we’d make a decision too quickly and regret it in a couple of years.

The couple followed her advice. They landed jobs, made their way to Colorado, and found a place to rent.

It wasn’t long before they started looking for a place to buy. And, of course, they asked for Heather’s help. Given their lease situation—and given Denver’s competitive market—it wasn’t easy to navigate the timeline. More than once, Heather guided Brian and Krysten to places they really liked, but without someone to take over their lease, they couldn’t even consider putting in an offer.

Heather wasn’t phased.

She was so nice and receptive. At one point, I thought, ‘We’ve just got to leave this lady alone until we’re ready to move out,’ but we never felt like a burden to her. 

Finally, the couple decided they’d sacrifice a couple of months’ rent if they found the right place. And they went all-in with their search

We were buying a home for the first time, and our family’s not even here. It was nerve-wracking. You take your whole life savings, and you’re like, “I hope this works out.”

My fear was we’d buy something, walk in the door, and things would start falling apart left and right… that we would be in the money pit.

But with Heather, I felt like we had someone to trust. As cheesy as that might sound, I never felt like we were being led down a path we would regret.

Along the way, Brian and Krysten seriously considered a duplex in Denver, but it needed quite a lot of work. They’re a handy couple with family who were willing to come pitch in too, but once again, Heather leveled with them

She told us, “Unless the two of you are quitting your jobs and working here, this is not the place for you.” Heather could tell this wasn’t going to be an evenings-and-weekends project, and kept us from making a mistake.

That’s one of the reasons we’d work with Dwell Denver over and over again and why we recommend them. They don’t just tell you what you want to hear. They help you make smart decisions instead of being distracted by shiny objects.

They listen. They’re honest. They have tons of experience here. They’ve seen the market grow, and they know how to be competitive.

In 2019, the couple found The One: a warm and inviting four-bedroom in Louisville with a big backyard. And Heather’s competitive nature kicked in.

We saw the house on Saturday morning—the one time the home would be shown all weekend—and the sellers were reviewing offers at noon on Monday. We were feeling desperate, and we wanted to put in a nice strong offer right away. But Heather knew better. 

She told us to wait. “You don’t want to be the first offer to the table, because they’ll just use your offer against the others. You’ll end up creating your own bidding war.”

By Sunday night, no other offers had come in, and Heather decided it was time to move. She didn’t want the sellers to get cold feet and take the place off the market. “Let’s put in an offer now.” 

Brian and Krysten got the house—and it immediately appraised for more than they offered. Instant equity. 

That’s not the only “win” the couple describe when it comes to working with Heather and Dwell Denver.

Neither of us had ever seen an inspection report, and Heather knew what we should push for and what sellers would consider nitpicking.

Heather understood what our long-term needs might be and made sure we considered them—like having space for kids in our future or for out-of-town family to stay.

She helped us understand what to look for in a lender and helped us avoid some horror stories. In Denver, closings happen fast, and Heather made sure we had a lender who was timely and responsive. She even had conversations with them while she was on vacation.

We talked with Heather about some work we wanted to do on the house right away, and she helped us think strategically about our down payment. In short, we put less than 20% down, invested the difference into upgrades that increased our home’s value, and we’ve already refinanced and been able to eliminate PMI (private mortgage insurance). As first-time home buyers, we didn’t even know it was OK to put less than 20% down—until Heather told us.

These days, Brian and Krysten consider Heather and Lane their friends. They’ve recommended Dwell Denver to “every single friend” who’s looking for guidance in the Denver area.

And when the couple’s ready to make their next move:

There’s nobody else who we’re going to use as our real estate agent.

Wanna grab a burrito?

Buying your first home can be an overwhelmingly stressful experience… but it doesn’t have to be! We’d love to treat you to Santiago’s burrito and help you sort through all the noise so you can make every decision with confidence. 

You game?